Kevin Spacey ‘humbled’ after being found not guilty of sex offences
Visibly emotional, Spacey said outside the court that he was "enormously grateful to the jury"
The actor Kevin Spacey has said he is “humbled” after being cleared of nine sexual offences.
On Wednesday (26 July) Spacey, 64, was cleared of all counts following a trial at Southwark Crown Court in London.
Speaking outside the court once the verdict had been delivered, the House of Cards actor, visibly emotional, said it was “a lot for me to process.”
He continued: “I would like to say that 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 their decision and I am humbled by the outcome today.”
The offences relate to four men and were alleged to have been committed between 2001 and 2013.
The BBC reports Spacey faced seven counts of sexual assault and two counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. He was found not guilty on all counts.
Four charges of indecent assault were struck off by the judge due to a “legal technicality.”
During the trial, Spacey’s defence barrister, Patrick Gibbs KC, said Spacey had been “tried by social media,” as reported by the BBC.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Crown Prosecution Service said it respected the jury’s decision.
“The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent, and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges,” a spokesman said.
Last year a sexual assault case against the Oscar-winning actor was dismissed after a jury in New York decided in his favour.
The case was brought by Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged that Spacey had touched him inappropriately at a party when Rapp was 14 in 1986.
After a three-week trial, a jury decided in October that Rapp had not proven his case against Spacey.