Kevin Spacey wins in civil sexual-abuse case introduced by actor Rapp By Reuters

By Jack Queen

(Reuters) – Kevin Spacey on Thursday defeated a sexual abuse case in opposition to him after jurors in a Manhattan civil trial discovered his accuser didn’t show his declare that the Oscar winner made an undesirable sexual advance on him when he was 14.

The decision adopted a three-week trial in Manhattan federal courtroom and got here roughly two hours after jurors started deliberating.

Anthony Rapp, now 50, testified that Spacey climbed on prime of him on a mattress and pressed his groin into Rapp’s hip till he was in a position to wriggle free. Spacey denied the allegation on the stand and mentioned he had by no means been alone with Rapp.

A tearful Spacey, the previous star of the Netflix (NASDAQ:) U.S. political drama “Home of Playing cards,” emerged within the corridor outdoors the courtroom briefly however went again inside. He declined to reply reporters’ questions upon leaving.

Spacey’s lawyer, Jennifer Keller, advised reporters her consumer was grateful jurors “noticed by means of these false allegations.”

“What’s subsequent is Mr. Spacey goes to be proving that he is harmless of something he is been accused of,” Keller mentioned.

Spacey faces a legal trial in London subsequent yr after pleading not responsible to 5 intercourse offense costs over alleged assaults between 2005 and 2013.

Keller argued throughout her closing arguments that Rapp’s story was a fabrication. She superior a number of theories for why Rapp may need lied, together with a need for consideration or jealousy of Spacey’s appearing success.

“Mr. Rapp is getting extra consideration on this trial than he has in his whole appearing life,” Keller mentioned.

Throughout closing arguments, Rapp’s lawyer urged jurors to discredit Spacey’s reminiscence of the occasions. “It’s inconsistent. It is not worthy of your perception,” the lawyer, Richard Steigman, mentioned, citing what he claimed had been gaps in Spacey’s reminiscence and modifications in his recollection. Steigman declined remark following the decision.

Spacey gained Oscars for performances in “American Magnificence” and “The Normal Suspects,” however his profession largely ended after greater than 20 males accused him of sexual misconduct.

Netflix dropped him from “Home of Playing cards” and Christopher Plummer changed him within the position of J. Paul Getty in “All of the Cash within the World” weeks earlier than the film’s scheduled launch in 2017.

Spacey’s protection challenged Rapp’s reminiscence of the 1986 encounter, asking why he described it as having taken place in a bed room when Spacey lived in a studio on the time.

Keller argued that Rapp’s recollection of his encounter with Spacey carefully resembled a scene within the play Rapp was appearing in on the time, during which an older male actor lifts him up and locations him on a mattress.

The trial in Manhattan federal courtroom started on Oct. 6, slightly below 5 years after Spacey’s profession was upended by sexual misconduct allegations within the early days of the #MeToo motion, which inspired ladies to talk out about sexual abuse by well-known and highly effective individuals. Males additionally got here ahead with claims of abuse.

Spacey has denied any misconduct.

Keller urged jurors to disregard the sexual politics of the case.

“This isn’t a group sport the place you’re both on the MeToo facet or the opposite facet,” Keller mentioned.

Rapp sued Spacey for battery and intentional infliction of emotional misery in November 2020.

In the course of the trial, Choose Lewis A. Kaplan dismissed the emotional misery declare however allowed the remainder of the lawsuit to proceed.

Spacey was charged with indecent assault in Massachusetts in 2018 over allegations he sexually abused an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket bar in 2016, however prosecutors in 2019 dropped the fees after the alleged sufferer refused to testify.