Spacey faces four counts of sexual assault after evidence review by Met
Alleged offences against three men occurred when the actor was in charge at the Old Vic in London
‘The CPS reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Spacey are active’
KEVIN SPACEY, the Oscar-winning actor, is to be charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men from when he was the artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London.
The 62-year-old, below, faces the charges after a review of evidence by the Metropolitan Police to a series of complaints dating back to between 2005 and 2013.
Spacey, who is thought to live in New York, has not been formally charged because he is abroad. The CPS refused to discuss whether it would seek extradition of the American star.
Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said: “The CPS has authorised criminal charges against Kevin Spacey, 62, for four counts of sexual assault against three men.
“The CPS has also authorised one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The authority to charge follows a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,” Ms Ainslie said.
She added: “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Spacey are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”
The four offences allegedly took place in London and Gloucestershire between March 2005 and April 2013.
They include two counts of sexual assault on a man, now in his 40s, in March 2005.
He is also accused of sexually assaulting a second man, now in his 30s, in August
2008 in London, and of causing him to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
A third alleged victim, now in his 30s, said he had been sexually assaulted by
Spacey in
Gloucestershire in April 2013. The CPS said it could not say if Spacey would need to be extradited to the UK.
Generally in such cases, the person concerned can choose to return to face charges. If this does not happen, prosecutors can potentially start extradition proceedings.
Spacey, who spent a decade as the artistic director of the Old Vic in south London, was originally the subject of a Scotland Yard investigation after allegations that he had assaulted a man at his London flat in 2008.
In 2017, it emerged that the Met was investigating the actor over a further allegation dating back to 2005.
The two-time Oscar winner is known for starring roles in American Beauty, The Usual Suspects and House of Cards.
He was dropped by Netflix before the final series of House of Cards after a number of men accused him of sexual abuse in both the UK and the US.
The first allegation was made in 2017 by Anthony Rapp, a former child actor, who said he was 14 when Spacey made sexual advances towards him in 1986.
Spacey said he did not remember the incident, but offered his “sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behaviour”.
The only case in the US that moved towards criminal trial involved an allegation that Spacey sexually assaulted an 18-year-old in a bar on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 2016.
It was dropped in 2019 after the accuser said he no longer wished to proceed.
Spacey insisted in court filings that the pair spent an enjoyable night together and engaged in “mutual and consensual flirting”.
A trailer for his new film, Peter Five Eight, a thriller, launched at the Cannes Film Festival this week. Spacey has previously denied the allegations against him.