Sexual assault lawsuit against Kevin Spacey has begun

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey has been on trial in New York since Thursday for alleged sexual assault. At the start of the civil case against the 63-year-old former star of the “House of Cards” series, the 12 jurors were sworn in, US media reported unanimously.

Actor Anthony Rapp (50) had filed a lawsuit against Spacey. He accuses Spacey of an incident at a party in New York in 1986, in which the actor allegedly became abusive.

At the said party, Spacey is said to have lifted Rapp on a bed and then placed it on him. When Rapp managed to break free and try to leave the room, Spacey reportedly followed him and asked if he was sure he wanted to leave.

At the time, Rapp, who later became famous for the musical “Rent” and the TV series “Star Trek: Discovery”, was 14 years old. With his civil lawsuit against Spacey, he wants to get 40 million dollars in damages. The two-time Oscar winner (“The Usual Suspects”, “American Beauty”) has denied the allegations.

Anthony Rapp filed a complaint in November 2020 for assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but he is said to have previously spoken to his friends about the attack. In a 2017 interview with Buzzfeed, Rapp publicized these allegations, saying:

Spacey’s attorney Jennifer Keller in court refutes the theory that Rapp, jealous of Spacey’s successful Hollywood career, made up a story to harm Spacey. According to Keller, the described attack strongly resembles a scene from a movie in which Rapp was playing at the time. Rapp only told this story to get attention and sympathy and to get his name more attention again.

In the fall of 2017, allegations of sexual assault and harassment were leveled against Spacey during the MeToo debate. Several plaintiffs went to court, but some lawsuits were dropped or dismissed because of the statute of limitations. Crew members of the Netflix series “House of Cards” also accused Spacey of sexual harassment. The streaming giant subsequently canceled its partnership with him.

Spacey was reported in the UK in late May for sexually assaulting three men. The British public prosecutor’s office in London said the cases were between 2005 and 2013. (anb, with material from the SDA)