Kevin Spacey has pleaded not guilty in court after appearing to face a criminal charge that alleges he sexually assaulted an 18-year-old after plying him with alcohol at a bar in Nantucket more than two years ago.
The former House of Cards actor did not speak during the brief pre-trial hearing, but his lawyers entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
The 59-year-old was charged last month with one count of felony indecent assault and battery.
The judge ordered that Spacey not speak to his alleged victim, with another hearing scheduled for March 4.
The judge also granted a request by Mr Spacey’s lawyers to preserve the victim’s mobile phone data from the six months following the alleged July 7, 2016 assault.
The hearing comes over a year after former Boston TV anchor Heather Unruh accused the Oscar-winning actor of sexually assaulting her son, then 18, in a crowded bar where the teen worked.
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This marks the first criminal case brought against Spacey since other allegations surfaced against in in 2017.
Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making a sexual advance towards him when he was just 14 years old.
Rapp alleges that Spacey, aged 26 at the time, made a sexual pass at him while they were both appearing in shows on Broadway in 1986.
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Speaking to Buzzfeed News, Rapp alleges that the actor invited him to his apartment for a party. The then 14-year-old stayed at the party watching television in the bedroom until after midnight, when he discovered he was the only guest left.
Rapp says he then went to leave, only to find Spacey standing in the bedroom doorway.
Rapp alleges Spacey “sort of stood in the doorway, kind of swaying. My impression when he came in the room was that he was drunk.”
The actor says Spacey then “picked me up like a groom picks up the bride over the threshold. But I don’t, like, squirm away initially, because I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he lays down on top of me.”
The actor accuses Spacey of trying to hold him down by “pressing into” him and “tightening his arms”.
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“He was trying to seduce me,” Rapp says. “I don’t know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually.”
He says he then managed to squirm away and leave the apartment.
Spacey responded to Rapp’s allegations by issuing a statement on Twitter in which he said he owed Rapp “the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”
Spacey then added, “This story has encouraged me to address other things about my life. I know that there are stories out there about me and that some have been fueled by the fact I have been so protective of my privacy. … I choose now to live as a gay man. I want to deal with this honestly and openly and that starts with examining my own behaviour.”
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