On Wednesday, actor Kevin Spacey was acquitted of sexual offenses against four men by a jury in London, concluding a high-profile case that spanned nearly four weeks in the British capital. Throughout the trial, Spacey, 64, and all four accusers testified, with the actor maintaining his plea of not guilty to all nine charges, including sexual assault. These allegations date back two decades.
The jury, consisting of three women and nine men, initially couldn’t reach a verdict on Monday afternoon, prompting them to adjourn and resume deliberations on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Throughout the trial, prosecutor Christine Agnew depicted Spacey as a “sexual bully,” accusing him of aggressively groping men and deriving pleasure from making them feel powerless and uncomfortable.
All four complainants involved in the case are protected by lifelong anonymity under English law, and their names cannot be disclosed. During the trial, they provided testimony with varying descriptions of Kevin Spacey, referring to him as “slippery,” a “vile sexual predator,” and “disgusting.”
Three of the complainants accused Spacey of groping them, while the fourth alleged that Spacey performed oral sex on him while he was unconscious in the actor’s apartment.
The charges against Spacey spanned from 2004 to 2013, during which he served as the artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre. He faced a total of seven counts of sexual assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity.
