Judge denies Spacey bid to skip court date

Kevin Spacey has lost his bid to sit out a court appearance in Massachusetts over allegations of sexual assault.

The actor was charged with felony indecent assault and battery last week following claims he groped an 18-year-old male in a Nantucket restaurant in 2016.

His arraignment is set to take place in Nantucket District Court on Jan. 7, but the actor’s lawyer, Juliane Balliro, asked a judge to allow Spacey to give the hearing a miss, claiming his presence would “amplify the negative publicity already generated in connection with this case.”

According to court papers obtained by The Associated Press, Balliro also argued the Academy Award winning actor’s attendance would only “heighten prejudicial media interest in the case” and increase the possibility of contaminating the jury pool should the case go to trial.

Judge Thomas Barrett presided over the request on Monday, but declined to grant the motion, meaning the 59-year-old will have to face the court in person.

The news emerges days after it was revealed that his alleged victim, the son of Heather Unruh, an ex-reporter for Boston’s WCVB network, had allegedly captured part of the supposed encounter on camera in a Snapchat video message sent to his girlfriend from the restaurant where he worked.