Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey was found not guilty of nine sex offences at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday.
The actor known for his movie and TV roles including “House of Cards” cried when the verdict was delivered.
The 64-year-old Hollywood star denied all the charges – which included seven counts of sexual assault – against four men during the time when he was the artistic director of London’s Old Vic theater.
The BBC reports Spacey denied using his power as an A-lister to get people into bed, saying he tried to help others – and described the allegations as a “stab in the back” during the monthlong trial.
Spacey had faced charges including multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
U.S. actor Kevin Spacey (R) leaves Southwark Crown Court as he awaits a verdict in his trial on sexual assault charges in London, United Kingdom on July 25, 2023. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The accusations date from 2001 to 2013 and include a period when Spacey — after winning Academy Awards for The Usual Suspects and American Beauty — had returned to the theater, his first love, AP reports.
The men came forward after an American actor accused Spacey of an incident of sexual misconduct as the #MeToo movement gained momentum in 2017.
Several of the men said they had been haunted by the abuse and couldn’t bear to watch Spacey’s films.
A New York jury last year cleared Spacey in a $40 million lawsuit by Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp on allegations dating back three decades.
Spacey had viewed the London case as a chance for personal redemption.
He confidently predicted to German magazine Zeit last month there were “people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London.”
More to come…