UPDATED 5/31, 10:35 p.m. ET: Kevin Spacey will “voluntarily appear” before a U.K. court to defend himself against the new charges, per the Hollywood Reporter.
“I very much appreciate the Crown Prosecution Service’s statement in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair trial, and innocent until proven otherwise,” he said in a statement to Good Morning America, “While I am disappointed with their decision to move forward, I will voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence.”
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Kevin Spacey has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault in the U.K.
Per an initial report from Reuters, Spacey has been charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men following what the Crown Prosecution Service described as “a review of the evidence” from police involved in the investigation.
“The CPS has authorized criminal charges against Kevin Spacey, 62, for four counts of sexual assault against three men,” Rosemary Ainslie, Head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said in a press release on Thursday. “He has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The charges follow a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation. The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr. Spacey are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.”
Two of the accused sexual assaults are alleged to have occurred in London in March 2005, another is alleged to have occurred in August 2008 in London, and the fourth is alleged to have occurred in Gloucestershire in April 2013.
In November 2017, the London-based Old Vic theatre issued a public apology over the impact of what it said was a “cult of personality” surrounding the actor. Spacey served in an artistic director role at the theatre for more than a decade.
“The Old Vic apologizes wholeheartedly to the people who told us that they have been affected,” Kate Varah, the theatre’s executive director, said in a statement obtained by the Guardian at the time. “We’ve learned that it is not enough to have the right process in place. Everyone needs to feel able to speak out no matter who they are.”
Last year, Spacey and production companies associated with him were ordered to pay millions in connection with financial losses spurred by his firing from House of Cards. Spacey was booted from the series in 2017 amid sexual misconduct allegations, forcing the team behind it to figure out an ultimately truncated path forward.
