Sam Amico
Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has been acquitted of all charges by a London jury in a high-profile sexual assault case, sparring him of a possible prison term.
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It happened on his 64th birthday.
Tears rolled down Spacey’s cheeks as the final verdict of “not guilty” was read. He looked at the jury, placed his hand over his heart, and mouthed a “thank you.”
Spacey testified about the six years he’s gone without work after the sexual abuse allegations from four men during the United States’ #MeToo movement of 2017.
“My world exploded,” Spacey testified. “There was a rush to judgment and before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days.”
Three men accused Spacey of grabbing their crotches in an aggressive manner. He was called “vile” and “slippery” and “snaky” by those accusers. A fourth said he awoke in Spacey’s apartment with the actor performing oral sex on him after the accuser had falling asleep or passed out. That accuser, an aspiring actor, claimed he went to Spacey’s place for career advice.
Spacey was facing nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault. He had also faced one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The alleged incidents occurred between 2001 and 2013. At the time, Spacey was starring in such films as The Usual Suspects and American Beauty. His accusers said they have suffered too much trauma to watch his movies.
Per the AP: “One of the men broke down when speaking with police as he provided details in a videotaped interview about the oral sex incident that he said he’d never told anyone before. Another man said he was angry about the abuse that occurred sporadically over several years and began to drink and work out more to cope with it.”
Spacey’s attorney, Patrick Gibbs, called three of the accusers liars and said they “reimagined” their incidents with Spacey “with a sinister spin.” Gibbs added that the men hopped on a “bandwagon” of accusations in an attempt to get rich.
In the end, it seems, the jury agreed.
