A Manhattan court has found Kevin Spacey not liable for sexual battery in a civil suit brought upon him by actor Anthony Rapp.
Rapp had alleged that Spacey climbed on top of him and molested him in 1986 when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26, an "incredibly frightening and very alarming" encounter that the actor described as "the most traumatic single event" of his life. "I didn't ask for him to do that," he told jurors. "I didn't want him to do that."
Spacey maintained that the allegations were a "story" created by the accuser, suggesting that Rapp fabricated the incident because he was jealous of his success in the entertainment world.
Rapp was seeking $40 million USD in the civil suit that detailed accounts of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but as Variety reports, Spacey's lawyers were able to hone in on inconsistencies in his story — like his incorrect recollection of Spacey's apartment's floorplan — ultimately convincing a jury of six men and six women to side with Spacey.
Earlier this year, Spacey was hit with four counts of sexual assault and one count of "causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent" in the UK in a separate case. He pleaded not guilty to all four charges, and will bring his defence to court in June 2023.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan would not permit Rapp's lawyers to discuss the ongoing UK case, though allowed Spacey's former employee Andy Holtzman (who has also accused the actor of unwanted sexual advances, which Spacey has denied) to testify.
Rapp had alleged that Spacey climbed on top of him and molested him in 1986 when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26, an "incredibly frightening and very alarming" encounter that the actor described as "the most traumatic single event" of his life. "I didn't ask for him to do that," he told jurors. "I didn't want him to do that."
Spacey maintained that the allegations were a "story" created by the accuser, suggesting that Rapp fabricated the incident because he was jealous of his success in the entertainment world.
Rapp was seeking $40 million USD in the civil suit that detailed accounts of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but as Variety reports, Spacey's lawyers were able to hone in on inconsistencies in his story — like his incorrect recollection of Spacey's apartment's floorplan — ultimately convincing a jury of six men and six women to side with Spacey.
Earlier this year, Spacey was hit with four counts of sexual assault and one count of "causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent" in the UK in a separate case. He pleaded not guilty to all four charges, and will bring his defence to court in June 2023.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan would not permit Rapp's lawyers to discuss the ongoing UK case, though allowed Spacey's former employee Andy Holtzman (who has also accused the actor of unwanted sexual advances, which Spacey has denied) to testify.
