Kevin Spacey acquitted of all sexual assault charges: The actor's UK trial explained

Kevin Spacey, whose stellar acting career was derailed by sex assault allegations, has been cleared by a jury of all nine charges against him in his London sex crimes trial. The "House of Cards" actor was accused of sexual offenses against four men in Britain, including multiple counts of sexual and indecent assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

The charges against the Academy Award-winner were first filed in June 2022, with additional charges added in November.

His trial before a jury opened June 28 London Southwark Crown Court and lasted for four weeks. Jurors — nine men and five women — were selected on the first day of the trial. As they read the verdict Wednesday, tears rolled down Spacey's cheeks; it was his 64th birthday.

Prosecutor Christine Agnew called Spacey a "sexual bully" in opening statements, arguing Spacey "delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable."

Defense lawyer Patrick Gibbs said Spacey denied all allegations of nonconsensual activity and told jurors to ask themselves as they listened to the evidence what – if anything – had happened. "What has been reimagined with a sinister spin?" Gibbs said. "What has been made up or twisted?"

What is Kevin Spacey accused of in the UK?

Spacey, 63, faced nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual and indecent assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. He had faced 13 charges until July 19, when the judge removed four counts that duplicated the same allegations under an older statute.

At an earlier hearing, Spacey's lawyer said the actor "strenuously denies" the charges. The attorney said Spacey would face the U.K. court to establish his innocence and "proceed with his life."

The actor, charged in the U.K. under his full name of Kevin Spacey Fowler, pleaded not guilty to all counts, which relate to alleged incidents between 2001 and 2013.

Why is Kevin Spacey's trial in London?

Spacey spent more than a decade living in Britain, where he was artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre from 2004 to 2015. He was a high-profile figure in London, starring in productions including William Shakespeare's "Richard III" and David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow," and hosting star-studded fundraising events for the 200-year-old venue.

Spacey was questioned by British police in 2019 about claims by several men that he had assaulted them. He was charged in May 2022 with five counts against three alleged victims. Another seven charges, all against a fourth man, were added in November.

Spacey, who has addresses in Britain and the U.S., has been free on unconditional bail as he awaited trial.

What have Kevin Spacey's accusers said about actor's alleged assaults?

Four men accused Spacey of sexual offenses in damning testimony shared throughout the trial. Allegations ranged from unwanted touching to aggressive groping. The men were not allowed to be identified under British law.

One accuser, whose testimony via video interview was played to jurors July 3, said he reacted with horror when Spacey made first contact by rubbing his neck early in their work relationship in the early 2000s. "Nothing happened between us. He was assaulting me," he said. "I was doing my job, and he was the one touching me."

Another man, who met Spacey in a pub, said the actor kissed his neck twice and grabbed his crotch in testimony played in court July 4. The man said he was shaken when Spacey approached him for an "awkward man hug" after he retrieved Spacey's dog, which had escaped the house. Spacey then kissed his neck and grabbed his crotch and said, "Be cool, be cool," the man testified.

The third accuser alleged in testimony played July 5 that Spacey made a "barrage of vile comments" toward him while attending a charity event together and later grabbed his penis through his jeans when the two men were alone. "It was like a cobra coming out and getting hold," he said. "Not like a seduction. It was angry."

Spacey's final accuser, an aspiring actor who accused Spacey of being a "vile sexual predator" who drugged and assaulted him when he sought his mentorship, alleged in testimony shared July 10 that several hours after visiting Spacey's home, he woke up to find the actor performing oral sex on him.

Prosecutor calls Kevin Spacey 'cruel,' defense says he's an 'easy target' in UK trial closing arguments

Agnew told jurors in the prosecution's closing argument July 19 that Spacey seized brief moments for an "opportunity grab" and was able to get away with the assaults for years because as a celebrity, he took advantage of his power.

Despite supportive character statements from the actor's friends (including singer Elton John), Agnew said Spacey chose who he was kind to and that didn’t mean he behaved the same way behind closed doors or when opportunity presented itself. "History is littered with people who are benevolent to some and cruel to others," Agnew said.

Spacey's defense attorney Gibbs said the prosecution's case was based on fictions and fantasies in closing arguments July 20 and that his client was an easy mark for men who hopped on a "bandwagon" and fabricated stories in hopes of a payout.

"A man who is promiscuous, not publicly out, although everyone in the business knows he’s gay, who wants to be just a normal guy," Gibbs said in describing Spacey. "It's a life that makes you an easy target when the internet turns against you and you’re tried by social media."

Kevin Spacey's history with sexual assault allegations

A federal jury in the U.S. concluded in October that the 63-year-old actor didn't molest fellow actor Anthony Rapp in the 1980s, bringing to a conclusion a civil trial that was an outgrowth of the #MeToo movement. Jurors at a federal court in New York deliberated for a little more than an hour before deciding that Rapp hadn't proven his allegations.

The disgraced former "House of Cards" star was initially accused of abuse by Rapp, 51, in 2017, one of the first in a string of sexual misconduct allegations that tarnished Spacey's acting and filmmaking career. Rapp filed the lawsuit in 2020, claiming the Academy Award-winning actor tried to take him to bed when he was 14.

Another criminal case against Spacey – that he allegedly groped a bus boy in a Nantucket, Massachusetts, restaurant in the summer of 2016 – fell apart in July 2019 when the accuser pleaded the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify, forcing prosecutors to drop the case.

Also in 2019, a criminal investigation dropped and a civil suit was dismissed in Los Angeles after the accuser died. The plaintiff, a massage therapist, had accused Spacey of groping him.

Spacey also has been hit with a $31 million bill after a private arbitrator ruled, and a Los Angeles judge affirmed in August, that Spacey and his production companies must pay the makers of Netflix's "House of Cards" because of losses brought on by his 2017 firing for the sexual harassment of crew members.

Civil trial verdict: Kevin Spacey cleared by jury in Anthony Rapp molestation lawsuit

Will Kevin Spacey return to acting?

After allegations emerged in the U.S. amid the growing #MeToo movement, Spacey was fired or removed from projects – most notably "House of Cards," the Netflix political thriller where for five seasons he played lead character Frank Underwood, a power-hungry congressman who becomes president. He was cut from the completed film "All the Money in the World," and the scenes reshot with Christopher Plummer.

Spacey is adamant that his career is not over. He had his first film role for several years in Italian director Franco Nero's "The Man Who Drew God," played the late Croatian President Franjo Tudjman in biopic "Once Upon a Time in Croatia" and also starred in as-yet unreleased U.S. film "Peter Five Eight."

Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to 7 more sex offense charges in UK, bringing total to 12

In January he was feted with a lifetime achievement award from Italy’s National Cinema Museum in Turin. He also taught a masterclass and introduced a sold-out screening of "American Beauty" in what were billed as Spacey's first speaking engagements in five years.

He told Germany’s Zeit magazine in a rare recent interview that the media had turned him into a "monster." But he said, "There are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London."

Contributing: Naledi Ushe and Maria Puente, USA TODAY; Jill Lawless and Brian Melley, The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Spacey verdict: What to know about UK trial after acquittal