(Trigger warning: Mentions, descriptions of sexual assault and physical abuse)
On Wednesday, 26 July, the jurors at Southwark Crown Court, London, cleared all the charges of sexual assault that were levelled against Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey.
After more than 12 hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted Spacey of nine sexual offence charges (he originally faced seven counts of sexual assault, three counts of indecent assault, and 2 of nonconsensual sexual activity) relating to four men that were alleged to have occurred between 2001 and 2013.
Here's a rundown of the people who have accused Spacey of sexual misconduct over the years:
1. Anthony Rapp
The Star Trek: Discovery actor was the first to open up about Spacey's sexual advances towards him in an interview with Buzzfeed in October 2017. Rapp, who was only 14 at the time (Spacey was 26), claimed that the incident took place at Spacey's Manhattan apartment in 1986 at a party.
"I still to this day can't wrap my head around so many aspects of it. It's just deeply confusing to me," Rapp told BuzzFeed News.
Later, Spacey issued a statement saying that he "did not remember the encounter" but that if it had happened, it "would have been deeply inappropriate, drunken behaviour."
In the same statement, Spacey also came out publicly as gay, which further infuriated gay rights advocates who called it out as a false conflation of homosexuality with paedophilia in an attempt to distract attention from Rapp's accusations.
2. Roberto Cavazos
Roberto Cavazos opened up about his sexual assault accusations against Spacey in a Facebook post. The Mexican actor alleged that Spacey groped him against his will at London's Old Vic Theatre, where the latter was an artistic director.
“It seems like you only needed to be a man under 30 for him to feel free to touch us," Cavazos wrote.
"I don't remember how many people told me the same story: Spacey would invite them to meet him to talk about their careers. When they arrived at the theatre, (Spacey) had prepared champagne on the stage, beautifully lit. Each story varied in how far the picnic went, but the technique was the same. More common was to find him at the bar of the theatre, grabbing whoever caught his attention."Actor Roberto Cavazos on Facebook
"Those of us who were around him at the Old Vic know that a lot more people will come forward with their stories in the coming days and weeks," Cavazos added to his post.
By November 2017, almost 20 men had alleged sexual misconduct by Spacey and they were all associated with the Old Vic Theatre. The theatre hired a law firm to investigate the claims and had said that all the allegations were reportedly from men above the age of 18.
It was concluded that people were probably reluctant to speak up before because of Spacey's “stardom and status".
The report also noted that Spacey didn't participate in the investigation and individual allegations couldn't be verified.
3. Daniel Beal
Daniel Beal had accused Spacey of indecent exposure. Beal told The Daily Mail in 2010 that he was 19 at the time and working as a bartender in a West Sussex hotel. He alleged that Spacey exposed himself to him outside the hotel while he was on a cigarette break.
He further accused Spacey of giving him an expensive watch to buy his silence, "Looking back, I realize it was to keep me quiet."
4. Justin Dawes
Justin Dawes accused Spacey of trying to make sexual advances towards him. In an interview with BuzzFeed, he said that he met Spacey in 1988 when he was 16 and used to be a theatre usher in New Haven, Connecticut where the actor was appearing in a play.
Dawes told the publication that Spacey invited him and a male friend to his apartment to watch a film, Chinatown. Upon reaching there, Spacey gave them cocktails and played pornography on the television instead.
Recalling the incident, Dawes said, "He knew that I was in high school. It was pretty clear. It's not like I was pretending to be an older, cooler person". Dawes said the situation felt "sleazy and manipulative" but not "intimidating".
5. Mark Ebenhoch
Mark Ebenhoch, who was then a 35-year-old military adviser, was working on the sets of the 1995 film Outbreak, starring Spacey. Ebenhoch told BuzzFeed that Spacey had instructed one of his young male crewmembers to solicit him for sex.
“As a military adviser the last thing you’d want anyone to know is that you were gay,” Ebenhoch told BuzzFeed.
He revealed that he turned Spacey down, feigning disgust, yet he was fearful of its repercussions on his career.
6. Harry Dreyfuss
Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss' son, Harry Dreyfuss, labelled Spacey a "sexual predator" in an article. In his first-person column for BuzzFeed, Richard described how Spacey groped his genitals when he was 18 while his father was in the room.
“What disgusts me about Kevin was how safe he did feel. He knew he could fondle me in a room with my father and that I wouldn’t say a word. He knew I wouldn’t have had the guts. And I didn’t.”Harry Dreyfuss, BuzzFeed
He shared that the incident took place in London in 2008, when Spacey was directing his father in a play at the Old Vic. He added that the three of them were alone in Spacey's apartment, rehearsing lines, when it happened.
He further revealed that although his father didn't see the incident take place, he didn't tell him until many years later.
7. Tony Montana
Independent filmmaker Tony Montana also accused Spacey of sexual assault. In an interview with USA Today, Montana revealed that he confronted Spacey at a Los Angeles pub in 2003, where the latter allegedly chased him into a bathroom.
Montana, who was then in his 30s, further told the publication, "I went up to order a drink, and Kevin came up to me and put his arm around me. He was telling me to come with him and leave the bar. He put his hand on my crotch forcefully and grabbed my whole package."
Montana said he suffered from PTSD for six months following the alleged incident.
8. Kris Nixon
Kris Nixon who had met Spacey while bartending near the Old Vic Theatre accused the actor of sexual misconduct. Nixon opened up to The Sun about Spacey inviting him to a party at his London apartment in 2007 and alleged that Spacey tried to grope him while he was sitting on a sofa beside him.
Talking about why he didn't report the incident before, he told the publication, "He was drunk but not paralytic. It was my word against his, and who is going to believe me?"
During a video interview with BBC, Nixon alleged, "Kevin Spacey sat down on the sofa next to me. He asked if that was my girlfriend, then reached over, grabbed my penis, and said, ‘I could fuck you better than her (a woman Nixon refers to as his 'then-sort-of-girlfriend).’"
9. Andy Holtzman
Andy Holtzman, a 1981 New York University graduate told USA Today that when he was working at the public theatre in the city, Spacey, then 22 (Holtzman was 27), had committed what he termed a "wordless assault" on him.
He shared that he was on his phone when "within minutes, wordlessly, he was up and all over me".
Holtzman, who is now a 66-year-old marketing consultant, told the publication, "The aggression was certainly more than a grope. When I was finally able to push him off and scream (at him), he theatrically stepped back, incredibly angry, grabbed his coat and bag, stormed out, and slammed the door."
10. Kate Edward
Kate Edward, a performing arts teacher from London, alleged that Spacey tried to pressurise her to have sexual intercourse with him when she was only 17. Edward told the BBC that the incident took place in 1986, when she was an assistant on a production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night, which starred Spacey.
Edward alleged that Spacey had invited her over to his apartment for a birthday party. However, the flat was empty, and the duo consensually kissed before Spacey escalated the situation.
"I said, ‘I want to go home and change.’ I felt pressured, and it became clear his intention was to have sex with me. He became cold and said, ‘Find your own way,’" Edward told the publication.
Anonymous Accusers
11. Heather Unruh's Son
Former Boston TV news anchor Heather Unruh held a press conference in 2017 in Boston, accusing Spacey of sexually assaulting her then-18-year-old son at a bar in Massachusetts in 2016.
Unruh revealed that her son had filed a report on the allegation, on which a criminal investigation had been opened; however, the police said they could not confirm or deny that due to state law. However, the Boston Globe reported in 2018 that Spacey faced a charge of battery and indecent assault.
Spacey's lawyer called the interaction in question "consensual flirtation" and claimed the accuser was 'exaggerating elements of the story'. In 2019, Unruh's son dropped his lawsuit against Spacey almost a week after it was filed.
12. A British Journalist
A British journalist, then in his 20s, also reported being subjected to sexual assault. According to BuzzFeed, the journalist had interviewed Spacey for a magazine and later been to a club with the actor and his friends. The journalist alleged that Spacey repeatedly grabbed his genitals and started "screaming at me with fury because I didn’t want to f**k him."
"If I were to publish a story about Kevin Spacey sexually harassing me on the job... there's no way without making it quite clear that he likes guys (Spacey wasn't out then)," he told the publication.
13. A Production Assistant On 'House of Cards'
A production assistant on the popular Netflix show House of Cards told CNN that during one of the show's early seasons, Spacey was driving them to the show's set in the Baltimore area when the latter put his hand down the assistant's pants.
The assistant added that the act was non-consensual and further accused spacey of creating a "toxic environment for young men who had to interact with him at all in the crew, cast, background actors.”
The studio behind the show, MRC had sued for breach of contract, claiming that they took measures after the allegations against the actor (including writing off his caracrer and halting production for the sixth season) that caused losses for them. Spacey's attorneys claimed that Spacey's behaviour was nothing more than “sexual innuendos” and “innocent horseplay” and therefore not a violation of the studio's anti-harassment policy.
A judge ruled in MRC's favour.
14. A New York Artist
A former child actor from New York told Vulture that he began a sexual relationship with Spacey in 1983, at the age of 14, when the latter was 24. He added that their alleged relationship ended a year later, when he turned 15, after Spacey reportedly attempted to rape him.
He further said that he believes Spacey is a "paedophile".
Spacey's lawyer said the actor "absolutely denies" the claims and later in 2021, the actor was dropped from the civil lawsuit with Rapp after he refused to reveal his name during the proceedings.
15. John
A person named John told the BBC that when he was 17, Spacey tried to seduce him at his Manhattan apartment in 1984. Recalling the incident, he shared that it was alleged that Spacey had asked him to share the bed with him, but he slept on the sofa. However, when he woke up, Spacey's arms were around him. He added that he believes nothing sexual had happened, but he said, "I was uncomfortable at best, traumatised at worst."
16. Anonymous Bartender
An anonymous bartender, then 23, alleged that Spacey assaulted him after he passed out at his London apartment in 2008. The bartender alleged that he had visited Spacey to seek career advice from him.
However, following the incident Spacey allegedly warned him to keep quite about it.
17. John Doe
John Doe, a former massage therapist, had anonymously alleged that Spacey offered him oral sex and forced him to grope his genitals twice during a session at the actor's Malibu home in 2016. According to a report by CBS News, Doe had sued Spacey for battery, assault, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Although the lawsuit was moved forward in court, it was dismissed by his estate after his death in September 2019.
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