American actor Kevin Spacey was found not guilty Wednesday of all the sexual assault charges he was facing in a U.K. trial. The actor had faced nine sexual offense charges related to incidents reported by four men that allegedly took place between 2001 and 2013.
The Academy Award-winning actor had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Spacey, 64, was acquitted in London’s Southwark Crown Court of charges including sexual assault, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity.
Reuters/Susannah Ireland
All four of the accusers — who can’t be named under U.K. law — testified during the trial, as did Spacey himself, who said he was crushed by the allegations.
In their testimony, the four men described Spacey as a “sexual bully” and a predator.
After Wednesday’s acquittal, Spacey said in a brief statement outside court that there was a lot for him to process.
“I’m 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, and I am humbled by the outcome today,” Spacey told reporters.
Spacey starred in the Netflix series “House of Cards” until he was fired in 2017 after fellow actor Anthony Rapp accused him of prior sexual misconduct. A civil jury in Massachusetts later found him not liable on those allegations.
-Alex Sundby contributed reporting.
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