House of Cards actor Kevin Spacey cleared of all sexual assault charges by London jury

American Beauty actor Kevin Spacey was acquitted of all sexual assault charges by a London jury on Wednesday ending a four-week trail. Three men had accused the Oscar winner of aggressively grabbing their crotches. 

In his defence, the House of Cards actor had said that he was a “big flirt” who had consensual flings with men and whose only misstep was touching a man’s groin while making a “clumsy pass.”

Kevin Spacey broke down in court after the London jury acquitted of all sexual assault charges brought against him in 2001. The charges were of sexual assault between 2001 to 2013 - mostly during his time as Artistic Director at The Old Vic theatre.

A fourth aspiring actor had also accused the sexual assault has narrated that he awoke to the actor performing oral sex on him after going to Spacey’s London apartment for a beer and either falling asleep or passing out.

All the men said the contact was unwanted but Spacey testified that the young actor and another man had willingly participated in consensual acts. 

Spacey testified that the third man's allegation that he grabbed his privates like a striking “cobra” backstage at a theatre was “pure fantasy.”

He said he didn’t remember a fourth incident at a small party at a home he rented in the country but accepted that he touched the groin of a man he had met at a pub during a night of heavy drinking. Kevin Spacey said he had misread the man’s interest in him and said he had probably made an awkward pass.

Defense lawyer Patrick Gibbs said three of the men were liars and incidents had been “reimagined with a sinister spin.” He accused most of them of hopping on a “bandwagon” of complaints in the hope of striking it rich.

The trial also had heavy financial impact on the actor. As allegations piled up and his acting roles came to a halt, the hit to Spacey financially was equally devastating. His defence costs for the UK trial alone were put at more than £1m, as reported by Daily Mail. 

Further, two years ago an arbitrator ruled his alleged sexual misconduct amounted to a breach of contract and he was told to pay £25.5 million to the producers of House of Cards - a production from which he was sacked, reported the media outlet. 

Incidentally, the actor's Frank Underwood character was also written out of the House of Cards show after sexual assault charges against Kevin Spacey came to limelight. Spacey was missing from the last season of the series and it was said that Frank Underwood was dead without adding further details.

(With agency inputs)