Kevin Spacey has pleaded not guilty after being accused of sexually assaulting a man at a bar in Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 2016.
The 59-year-old disgraced actor – who was first accused of sexual misconduct in October 2017 by Anthony Rapp, prompting multiple accusations from other men – appeared in court on Monday, January 7, for the proceedings, where he faced allegations of sexual assault from the son of a former TV news anchor.
According to CNN, the court hearing lasted just nine minutes, during which time Spacey was ordered to stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victim or his family.
The court also ordered that cell phone data from the alleged victim’s phone from July 2016 to six months after the alleged incident be preserved, in order to be used as evidence.
CNN reports that Spacey’s legal team then entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf, ahead of the next hearing date, which is scheduled for March 4.
The court has agreed to waive Spacey’s appearance at the next hearing, and although he doesn’t need to be physically present at the court, he must be available by phone.
The allegations first came to light in November 2017, when news anchor Heather Unruh claimed Spacey had groped her son’s genitals at The Club Car bar in 2016, when her son was just 18 years old.
The alleged victim’s attorney said: “By reporting the sexual assault, my client is determined an encouraging voice for those victims not yet ready to report being sexually assaulted. My client is leading by example.”
Spacey’s plea comes after he was accused in September by a male therapist of sexual battery, gender violence, battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment, after an incident at the actor’s home in 2016.
The unidentified man claimed he was hired to give Spacey a massage at his Malibu home three years ago.
He went on to claim he was led to a room upstairs, which Spacey allegedly locked, and after asking the actor if he had any problem areas, Kevin told him he was having some discomfort in his groin area.
Although the man says he asked Spacey to lie on his stomach, the actor allegedly laid on his back and grabbed the man’s hand, forcing it to massage his penis, scrotum and testicles.
Spacey was fired from Netflix drama ‘House of Cards’ over the previous sexual assault allegations made against him and replaced in the drama ‘All The Money In The World’.
In November 2017, he entered a treatment facility and has remained out of the public eye since.
