Kevin Spacey sexual assault case dismissed by New York court
The actor was alleged to have inappropriately touched fellow actor Anthony Rapp who was 14 at the time.
A sexual assault case against Kevin Spacey has been 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.
Rapp was suing Spacey, who denied the allegations, for $40 million (£36 million).
As reported by the BBC, on Thursday (20 October) the jury decided that Rapp had not proven his case against Spacey.
The jury is reported to have deliberated for an hour following a three-week trial.
Rapp first came forward with his allegations in 2017 in a Buzzfeed article. The BBC reports that Spacey said in court “I didn’t know how this could possibly be true”.
The House of Cards actor also said he would not have been interested in Rapp as he was underage.
After Rapp came forward more allegations surfaced leading to Spacey being dropped by Netflix from the series House of Cards.
He has been ordered to pay $31 million to the show’s producers due to the costs of rewriting the show.
He was also replaced in the film All the Money in the World by Christopher Plummer.
In a separate UK case, Spacey faces five charges of sexual assault. He has pleaded not guilty and the trial is due to begin in June 2023.