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Actor Kevin Spacey has been found not guilty of 12 sexual assault charges following a three-week trial in a Southwark Crown Court in London.
The House of Cards actor pled not guilty to 12 charges of sexual assault, and twelve jurors cleared the 64-year-old of nine charges, with the additional ones being struck down before the jurors began deliberating. During the trial, prosecutors sought to label Spacey as a “sexual bully,” and the actor took the stand to defend himself. The Academy Award-winning actor has faced allegations and charges of sexual assault in the United Kingdom and the United States for almost six years.
When the final “not guilty” was read out, the actor began to cry and sighed heavily with relief. After the verdict, Spacey walked out of the courtroom shaking hands with several jurors and kissing two security guards on the cheek before giving a short statement to the press.
Kevin Spacey spoke to press after being cleared of all sexual assault charges in the U.K. “I am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached the decision.” https://t.co/zmP0695pDp pic.twitter.com/LBRPvhilFP
— Variety (@Variety) July 26, 2023
“I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process,” Spacey said. “I’m enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence.” Before hopping into a taxi, he noted, “I am humbled by the outcome.”
In May 2022, the Crown Prosecution Service revealed five charges against Spacey, alleging sexual assaults against three men and one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent, according to prosecutors. Subsequently, an additional seven charges were included in November 2022.
Following the formal charges by the Metropolitan Police, Spacey appeared in a London court in July 2022 to plead not guilty.
In a separate civil sexual assault lawsuit brought by actor Anthony Rapp in New York City, Spacey was found not liable in October.
Several of the allegations in the U.K., dating back to 2001 and 2013, were connected to Spacey’s time as the artistic director at The Old Vic, a London theater company. These allegations came to light in 2017, two years after Spacey had stepped down from his position at the theater.
“And the public will still find him guilty…,” one person tweeted.
“Kevin Spacey did nothing wrong — officially,” another user tweeted.
Check out some of the online reactions to the verdict below.
The Kevin Spacey defenders are out in full force. One time I met a Kevin Spacey defender IRL. She told me that she believes he sexually assaulted those men, but she thinks his talent outweighs the harm he caused — and that he should still make movies, for her enjoyment.
— Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge) July 26, 2023
They ruined House of Cards for nothing.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 26, 2023
And the public will still find him guilty…
— Serrated Viper (@SerratedViper) July 26, 2023
far below Kevin Spacey crying and Hulk Hogan’s love life is CNN’s small mention of the incineration of the ecosystem that supports all life on the planet pic.twitter.com/zevbKlDhpC
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) July 26, 2023
Kevin Spacey’s accusers:
1. Dead, suicide (Ari Behn)
2. Dead, hit by a car (Linda Culkin)
3. Dead, cause unknown (John Doe)
4. Case suddenly dropped (07/2019)Today, he was acquitted for sexual assault. Dead men tell no tales.
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 26, 2023
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