Kevin Spacey cleared of sex assault charges

Actor Kevin Spacey has been cleared of all charges in his sexual assault trial in London.

The jury returned not guilty verdicts for nine sexual offence charges relating to four men between 2001 and 2013.

On Wednesday, Mr Spacey's birthday, he wept in court as these were read out.

Outside court, the 64-year-old Oscar winner said he was "humbled" and thanked the jury for their deliberations.

The jury acquitted the US actor of seven counts of sexual assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

After the verdict was read, he put his hand on his chest, looked at the jurors and mouthed "thank you" twice before they left the room.

Speaking later to journalists outside Southwark Crown Court, Mr Spacey said there was "a lot for me to process".

"I would like to say that I am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached their decision," he said.

"I am humbled by the outcome today. I also want to thank the staff inside this courthouse, the security, and all of those who took care of us every single day."

Jurors rejected the prosecution's claims that Mr Spacey had "aggressively" grabbed three men by the crotch and had performed a sex act on another man while he was asleep in his flat.

Prosecutors told the jury the star had left the four complainants feeling "small, diminished and worthless".

Mr Spacey denied all charges - saying the allegations against him were "weak", "madness" and a "stab in the back".

Under questioning from Mr Spacey's lawyer, Patrick Gibbs KC, the complainants had all denied either seeking financial gain, attempting to further their career or giving false accounts to the jury.

The complainants are entitled to life-long anonymity under the law.

Following the not guilty verdicts, the Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors respected the court's decision.

In a statement, a spokesman said: "The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges."

The trial at Southwark Crown Court lasted nearly four weeks and heard from multiple witnesses, including Mr Spacey himself.

Defence witnesses included Sir Elton John, who appeared by video link from Monaco, as well as Sir Elton's husband, David Furnish.

The Hollywood star won best actor Oscar in 2000 for American Beauty, and best supporting actor in 1995 for The Usual Suspects.

He was also the artistic director at the Old Vic Theatre in London between 2004 and 2015.

Mr Spacey's career came to a halt in 2017 after a number of accusations of inappropriate behaviour were made against him.

At the time, he had the starring role of Frank Underwood in Netflix political drama House of Cards, which he lost.

He was charged with the offences against three men by the CPS in May 2022, with additional charges from a fourth complainant added in November 2022.