(Trigger warning: mentions of sexual assault)
British prosecutors informed that actor Kevin Spacey is facing charges on four counts of sexual assault against three men, Associated Press reported. The Crown Prosecution Service said it had “authorised criminal charges” against the actor and he will be formally charged once he returns to Britain to face the charges.
While criminal proceedings against the actor have begun, the police force said that Spacey “will be formally charged at a later date”. If Spacey doesn’t return to Britain, prosecutors could begin extradition proceedings.
One complainant has alleged that Spacey sexually assaulted him twice in London in March 2005, according to ABC News. Another has alleged that the actor assaulted him in 2008 and a third person has alleged that Spacey sexually assaulted him in April 2013 in Gloucestershire.
Rosemary Ainslie who heads the special crimes division said, “He has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The charges follow a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation.”
In 2017, Spacey was accused of sexually assaulting the teenage son of a journalist. At least 10 other accusations followed, including those from a Star Trek actor and eight employees from Netflix’s House of Cards. Spacey denied the allegations. According to a report in Reuters, the police are also investigating up to 20 separate allegations of misconduct by Spacey during his time at London’s Old Vic theatre.
In 2019, Massachusetts prosecutors had dismissed a criminal charge of indecent assault and battery related to the alleged assault of an 18-year-old man.
After the allegations against Spacey surfaced in 2017, Netflix removed the actor from the sixth season of House of Cards and the production of writer Gore Vidal’s biopic, starring Spacey, was stalled.
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