Kevin Spacey Charged With Sexual Assault

Prosecutors in England have charged actor Kevin Spacey with four separate counts of sexual assault.

The charges involve alleged incidents involving three different men that took place in England in 2005, 2008, and 2013. Authorities in England also charged Spacey with “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.” While Spacey is American and best known as a Hollywood actor, he was the artistic director at London’s Old Vic Theatre from 2004 until 2015. Spacey was reportedly questioned by British police about these incidents back in 2019.

The London Metropolitan Police (per CNN) claim “the alleged victim of the 2005 incidents is now in his 40s, while the two men allegedly involved in the 2008 and 2013 incidents are now in their 30s” and the decision to charge Spacey "follows a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police Service in its investigation.” Spacey can’t be formally charged with the crimes until he actually steps foot in England or Wales. It’s not clear at this point whether he will be extradited if he doesn’t travel there willingly.

Spacey spent decades as one of Hollywood’s most respected actors. He won two Academy Awards — one for The Usual Suspects for Best Supporting Actor and one for American Beauty for Best Actor — and saw a career resurgence in the 2010s thanks to his starring role on Netflix’s first big original series, House of Cards. But in October of 2017, actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexual abuse at a party decades earlier, and following Rapp’s accusation numerous other alleged victims came forward with similar stories. (Rapp has filed a lawsuit against Spacey, who recently asked a judge to dismiss the case due to a lack of evidence.)

Since the allegations, Spacey has also been charge with sexual assault in Massachusetts, where a 2018 case was dropped after his accuser refused to testify against him. He was also sued by a massage therapist in California who alleged that Spacey groped him; after that accuser died, the case was dismissed as well. Although Spacey’s career stalled following Rapp and other’s allegations, he was recently seen in the trailer for a new film titled Peter Five Eight.