Sam Amico
Jurors in the sexual assault trial of noted actor Kevin Spacey have adjourned after deliberating for a little more than 2 hours without reaching a verdict.
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Spacey is being accused of sexual assault by four men in alleged incidents that span 20 years. The trial is being held in the Southwark Crown Court in London. For the past three weeks, the jury of nine men listened to testimony and arguments before beginning their deliberations.
Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault, as well as one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative activity without consent.
Spacey’s defense attorney called three of the accusers liars and suggested jurors should not convict Spacey for making a “clumsy pass” at the other accuser.
“A man who is promiscuous, not publicly out, although everyone in the business knows he’s gay, who wants to be just a normal guy,” attorney Patrick Gibbs said about his celebrity client. “It’s a life that makes you an easy target when the internet turns against you and you’re tried by social media.”
Meanwhile, Prosecutor Christine Agner said that Spacey’s alleged actions made his accusers feel “small” and “worthless.”
“There comes a stage when so many people are saying the same thing,” she told the jury. “It just becomes, I’d suggest, overwhelming.”
The alleged acts involving Spacey range from unwanted touching to aggressive grabbing of his accusers’ private parts and are said to have occurred between 2001 and 2013.
