The Oscar-winning actor will face a trial in June 2023 — a rare example of a celebrity #MeToo case reaching that stage in Britain.
LONDON — Kevin Spacey, the Oscar and Tony Award-winning actor, pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault on Thursday, British prosecutors said.
In a short hearing at the Old Bailey, one of London’s grandest courthouses, Mr. Spacey, 62, confirmed his name and address — he is appearing as Kevin Spacey Fowler — before pleading not guilty to all charges, according to the BBC and other news agencies.
The actor’s appearance was largely procedural. During the hearing, the presiding judge scheduled a three-to-four week trial that will not start until June 6, 2023; the British judicial system is struggling to deal with a severe backlog.
Mr. Spacey is facing four charges of sexual assault in the case, as well as one of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without their consent, which involved the penetration of a man’s mouth with a penis.
The five offenses involve three male accusers, and are said to have occurred between March 2005 and April 2013, a time when Mr. Spacey was the artistic director of the Old Vic theater in London.
Mr. Spacey was expected to plead not guilty to the charges, following an earlier court appearance in London. At that hearing last month, Patrick Gibbs, Mr. Spacey’s legal representative, said the actor denied all the charges and was determined to “establish his innocence.”
Mr. Spacey, who won Academy Awards for his performances in “The Usual Suspects” and “American Beauty,” is free to work and travel before the trial, having been granted unconditional bail.
Since the #MeToo movement spread worldwide in 2017, Mr. Spacey, who is also well known for having starred in the “House of Cards” series on Netflix, is one of the few high-profile celebrities accused of sexual assault to have faced a trial.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
