A jury in London found Kevin Spacey not guilty of sexual assault on Wednesday, sparing the Oscar winner from a potential jail sentence and giving him hope for a comeback in his profession after six years of unemployment.
Spacey sobbed as the final “not guilty” judgment was announced. It was the Oscar winner’s 64th birthday, and he turned to face the jury before putting his hand over the lapel of his blue suit and pink shirt and mouthing “thank you.”
“I imagine that many of you can understand that there’s a lot for me to process after what has just happened today,” a humbled Spacey said outside Southwark Crown Court after thanking the jurors in the lobby. “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.”
The Jury
At the conclusion of his two days of evidence, Spacey choked up as he discussed his six years of unemployment since the sex abuse claims against him first appeared in 2017.
Spacey remarked in court, “My world exploded.” “There was a rush to judgment, and before the first question was asked or answered, I lost my job, I lost my reputation, and I lost everything in a matter of days.”
The accusations
Spacey was accused of forcibly touching the private parts of three men, who called him “vile” and a “slippery, snaky” predator. A fourth, an aspiring actor, claimed that after dozing off or passing out in Spacey’s London apartment, where he had gone for career guidance and a beer, he awoke to the actor performing oral sex on him.
Spacey claimed to be a “big flirt” who engaged in consensual liaisons with guys, and that his only transgression was making a “clumsy pass” that involved touching a man’s groin.
Three of the men, according to defense attorney Patrick Gibbs, are liars, and their interactions have been “reimagined with a sinister spin.” He also accuses them of jumping on the #MeToo “bandwagon” in the hopes of becoming wealthy. Two of the men filed a lawsuit.
A “sexual bully”
Spacey was referred to as a “sexual bully” who preyed on younger guys by prosecutor Christine Agnew. She claimed that because of a “trinity of protection” that included the knowledge that men were unlikely to complain, that they wouldn’t be believed if they did, and that even in the event that they did, no action would be taken due to his authority, he was protected.
There were nine charges against Spacey, including several instances of sexual assault and one allegation of encouraging unwanted penetrative intercourse. Before rendering their decision, the jury deliberated for 12.5 hours across three days.
When asked about his stance of the London case by the German magazine Zeit last month, Spacey said that there were “people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London.”
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The photo above is from a YouTube screen grab