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Prosecution, defense focus on Kevin Spacey's fame in first day
of sexual assault trial
By Clyde Hughes
American actor Kevin Spacey leaves Southwark Crown Court on the first day of his trial for an alleged dozen sexual offenses between 2001 and 2013 in London on Wednesday The jury heard opening statements on Friday. Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI. | License Photo
June 30 (UPI) -- In opening statements Friday, London prosecutors said Kevin Spacey abused his fame to sexually assault four alleged victims while his defense questioned the allegations and motives.
The jury went home from the Southwark Crown Court on Friday after hearing the opening statements from both sides with initial evidence to be presented on Monday. The two-time Academy Award winner is facing a lengthy prison sentence if he is convicted on the 12 charges against him.
Prosecutor Christine Agnew said Spacey had an outside influence and power that made it easy for him to take advantage of the men, who were all younger than him.
"Kevin Spacey is an extremely famous actor who has won many awards and starred in many movies. He's also a man who sexually assaults other men," she said, adding that his "preferred method of assault" was to "aggressively grab other men in the crotch."
She said all of their allegations are credible.
"Are they lying?" Agnew asked the jury. "Have they decided to manufacture allegations against the defendant in order to benefit financially? [Spacey] abused the power and influence his reputation and fame afforded him, taking advantage of his popularity and prominence... taking what he wanted when he wanted."
Agnew told the jury that even though some may be a little "starstruck" by Spacey, they must concentrate on the evidence that they will be given.
"It is only right that you might feel a little starstruck or overwhelmed that you are part of the jury to try such a famous person," Agnew said.
Defense attorney Patrick Gibbs said it was actually the alleged victims who tried to take advantage of Spacey's fame and stardom to bring the action against him. He told the jury they will get "insights into both sides of fame" and "the way people act towards you."
"What's their true motivation for [the alleged victims to be] making these allegations now?" Gibbs said. He added they must decide if the alleged incidents "reasonably appear to be consensual."
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Accuser tells London court Kevin Spacey assaulted him
repeatedly over 5 years
By Clyde Hughes
Actor Kevin Spacey leaves Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday as his trial starts.
He heard the first day of live testimony on Monday.
Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo
July 3 (UPI) -- The lead witness in the London trial of Kevin Spacey said Monday that the movie star grabbed him in the private parts repeatedly over five years and showed little if any remorse for his actions.
The man, whose name was withheld, was the first alleged victim to testify in the trial which charges Spacey with 12 counts of sexual misconduct involving four different men.
"He grabbed me in private areas and tried to get me to put my hands on him," the man said on Monday. "He tried to grope me and grab me and it made me feel very, very uncomfortable."
The man said the incidents happened while Spacey served as artistic director at London's Old Vic Theater. Seven of the 12 charges Spacey faces are in relation to the alleged victim, including three sexual assault charges, three indecent assault charges and one causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
Inside the Southwark Court, Spacey listened to the testimony in the dock -- a locked, glass-paneled room at the center of the court room where defendants sit in British courts.
Under cross-examination from Spacey's attorney Patrick Gibbs, the witness admitted that he had maintained a relationship with Spacey despite the assaults and kept photos and a letter shared between the two.
"I kept a few things from him, but I kept the bare minimum," the witness said.
He also downplayed a photo of him and Space together.
"It's a normal photo, two men standing next to each other," he said.
He said, though, that Spacey made him feel "sick."
"When he was assaulting me it made me feel sick," the man said. "Thinking about them made me sick but receiving that letter I didn't think too much about it, to be honest."
In another exchange, the victim said he "got the dates wrong" when describing another incident on the way to an Elton John party. Gibbs said Spacey only attended the party in 2001 while the alleged victim initially claimed it happened later.
The witness never backed away that the incident happened, but added he simply got the dates mixed up. Gibbs suggested that the incident never happened.
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