After being charged with 4 counts of sexual assault final week, actor Kevin Spacey stated he plans to “voluntarily seem” and defend himself earlier than the British courts.
In an unique assertion to Good Morning America, Spacey, 62, stated he’s “assured” he can show his innocence within the costs regarding 4 alleged sexual assaults involving three separate males.
The fees, which had been approved by the Crown Prosecution Service of the U.Ok. on Thursday, are alleged to have occurred in London and Gloucestershire between March 2005 and April 2013.
An extra cost of “inflicting an individual to interact in penetrative sexual exercise with out consent” has additionally been approved towards Spacey, stemming from an alleged assault on one of many three males in August 2008 in London.
For the reason that 4 costs are approved by the U.Ok. courts, Spacey can solely be formally charged upon reentry and arrest in England or Wales. In line with the Washington Submit, it’s unclear as of now if the previous Home of Playing cards actor will likely be extradited to the nation.
Rosemary Ainslie, the top of the Crown’s particular crime division, stated the costs had been laid following the prosecution service’s one-year evaluate of Spacey’s case. Metropolitan Police had already investigated and gathered proof, and the actor was questioned by British police in 2019.
“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all involved that prison proceedings towards Mr. Spacey are lively and that he has the precise to a good trial,” Ainslie stated.
By way of a spokesperson, Spacey supplied the next assertion:
“I very a lot respect the Crown Prosecution Service’s assertion wherein they fastidiously reminded the media and the general public that I’m entitled to a good trial, and harmless till confirmed in any other case. Whereas I’m disenchanted with their resolution to maneuver ahead, I’ll voluntarily seem within the U.Ok. as quickly as might be organized and defend myself towards these costs, which I’m assured will show my innocence.”
The 2-time Academy Award-winning actor first confronted allegations of sexual assault in 2017, when actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of assaulting him at a celebration within the Nineteen Eighties, when Rapp was 14 years previous.
On the time of the preliminary allegation, Spacey responded on Twitter, claiming he didn’t recall the incident with Rapp, although he apologized nonetheless.
A civil sexual assault lawsuit was filed within the U.S. by Rapp towards Spacey in 2020. The case continues to be ongoing, although Spacey requested the decide to dismiss the lawsuit in April.
The U.Ok. costs had been introduced Thursday as Spacey was testifying in a courtroom in New York Metropolis within the civil lawsuit filed by Rapp. Spacey didn’t reply to reporters as he left the courthouse speaking on his cell phone.
One other prison case introduced towards Spacey, an indecent assault and battery cost stemming from the alleged groping of an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket resort, was dismissed by Massachusetts prosecutors in 2019.
— With information from International Information’ Kathryn Mannie
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