Kevin Spacey appears in London court after being charged with sexual assault
CNN
By Rob Picheta and Jo Shelley, CNN
US actor Kevin Spacey was granted bail Thursday during his first appearance at a London court since authorities charged him with five offenses, including four counts of sexual assault.
Spacey spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and London address during a brief procedural hearing, and a date of July 14 was set for his next hearing.
He was granted unconditional bail after his lawyer told the court he would need to return to the United States between court dates to work and see his family.
The “House of Cards” actor, 62, was charged last month with four counts of sexual assault against three men, alongside a fifth charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
Spacey’s lawyer told the court he “strenuously denies” all allegations of criminality.
The actor appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court wearing a light blue suit, dark tie and glasses on Thursday, and was met by a large crowd of reporters and photographers.
The charges he faces include two counts of sexual assault against a man in London in 2005; a third count of sexual assault, also in London, against a different man in 2008; and a final count against a man in Gloucestershire, western England in 2013. The fifth charge of nonconsensual penetrative activity also relates to the 2013 incident.
The alleged victim of the 2005 incidents is now in his 40s, while the two men allegedly involved in the 2008 and 2013 incidents are now in their 30s, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service authorized the charges against Spacey in late May, but the charges could not be formally applied until Monday, when he was in the United Kingdom.
Spacey has won two Academy Awards for his roles in “The Usual Suspects” and “American Beauty,” and was artistic director of London’s Old Vic theater from 2003 to 2015.
He has also starred in the Netflix political series “House of Cards,” and returned to acting in the past year.
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