Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty on Thursday to the sexual assault charges of three men a decade or more ago. Spacey, 62, spoke frankly, denying the five charges during a hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court.
Judge Mark Wall set June 6, 2023 as the date for the trial to begin and said it would last three to four weeks.
The former “House of Cards” star, who ran London’s Old Vic Theater between 2004 and 2015, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one count of engaging in penetrative sexual activity without a man’s consent. These incidents reportedly took place in London between March 2005 and August 2008 and in western England on April 1, 2013. The victims are now in their 30s and 40s.
Space’s lawyer had previously said that the actor “strongly denied” the allegations. Spacey was granted bail and allowed to return to the US after a preliminary hearing last month. Spacey won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the 1995 film “The Usual Suspects” and the lead actor Oscar for the 1999 film “American Beauty.”
But his famous career came to a sudden halt in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused Starr of assaulting him at a party in the 1980s, when Rapp was a teenager. Spacey has denied the allegations.