Kevin Spacey continues to plead his innocence and was today ordered to testify in person in a London court as part of the trial he is accused of a series of alleged sexual abuse and harassment between 2001 and 2013. He dismissed the two-time Oscar-winning actor, calling the allegations against him “insane” and defending himself by claiming he was just “flirting.” Spacey’s trial before a Southwark Crown Court judge and a popular jury began on June 28 and is expected to conclude by the end of July. The plaintiff faces a dozen charges based on evidence collected by British police on two separate occasions. First, on episodes of alleged sexual assault against a budding actor between 2001 and 2004. Second, on four other alleged abuses reported by three young men, dating from between 2005 and 2013.
The plaintiff’s defense
Today’s hearing, July 13, was dedicated solely to hearing Spacey, who has pleaded innocent since the beginning of the trial. Under pressure from prosecutors’ questions, the actor admitted to having been “intimate” with at least one of the accusers and admitted to using alcohol and cannabis. Spacey, however, has denied acting “violently, aggressively or painfully” and described himself as having a “great flirting” tendency. At one point in his hearing, the Guardian tells us, the actor broke down in tears and claimed he lost everything after allegations against him first surfaced in 2017. “There was a rush to reach a verdict. And before I could even reply, I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days,” Spacey said in court. In addition to the ongoing trial in London, the former film star also has to answer for the lawsuits filed in the USA, where he has survived the first trials unscathed.
The stories of the victims
In the last few days, while the trial was still in the UK, it was the turn of the alleged victims to testify in the courtroom and present their version of the facts. Many of them spoke of “aggressive” behavior and branded Spacey a “slimy” and “disgusting sex offender.” One of the young actors who filed a complaint alleges that Spacey drugged him and abused him unconscious. The man told the jury that he felt “surrounded by a shark” and described the alleged sexual assault as an event that “was absolutely traumatic and ruined my life.”
Credit: EPA/Andy Rain | Actor Kevin Spacey arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London (July 11, 2023)
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