Kevin Spacey cleared in NY sex assault case
A New York court dismissed a $40 million sexual misconduct lawsuit brought against Kevin Spacey by an actor who claimed the Hollywood star targeted him when he was 14.
A jury found that Anthony Rapp, who was seeking damages for "emotional anguish," failed to prove that the two-time Oscar winner had "touched a sexual or intimate body part," leading Judge Lewis Kaplan to dismiss the civil case.
After deliberating for about an hour "the jury found the defendant not liable," according to the US district court for the Southern District of New York.
The 63-year-old star of "Usual Suspects" and "House of Cards" was seen leaving court soon after the verdict was announced, without addressing reporters.
His lawyer said in a statement that "Mr. Spacey is grateful to live in a country where the citizens have a right to trial by impartial jurors who make their decision based on evidence and not rumour or social media."
Rapp, who stars in the series "Star Trek: Discovery," alleged he was assaulted by Spacey at a party in Manhattan in 1986, when he was 14 and Spacey 26.
In his lawsuit the actor, now 50, accused Spacey of coming into a bedroom where he was watching television, of picking him up, lifting him onto a bed and briefly laying down next to him.
Rapp agreed however there had been "no kissing, no undressing, no reaching under clothes, and no sexualized statements or innuendo," during an incident that lasted no more than two minutes.
