New York court dismisses Kevin Spacey sexual assault lawsuit

A New York court has dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit against the actor Kevin Spacey.

The case was brought by Anthony Rapp, who says the actor inappropriately touched him at a party in 1986 when he was aged 14.

Mr Rapp, now 50 and also an actor, filed the legal action in September 2020 and had been seeking around $40m (£36m) in damages.

Mr Spacey has denied the accusations against him.

He is separately facing five charges in the UK of sexual assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

On Thursday, following a three-week trial in a Manhattan federal court, a jury found that Mr Rapp had not proved his claim that Mr Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance.

Deliberations lasted for more than an hour and, after the verdict was read out by the judge, Mr Spacey reportedly hugged his lawyers before leaving the courtroom.

Mr Rapp says that Mr Spacey was around 26 or 27 years old when he met him at a party at his Manhattan apartment.

In a Buzzfeed article from October 2017, Mr Rapp said that Mr Spacey had picked him up, placed him on a bed and lay down partially on top of him. "I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually," he wrote.

Taking the stand in his own defence in the third week of his trial, Mr Spacey said he was shocked when Mr Rapp went public with his allegations five years ago.

"I didn't know how this could possibly be true," the 63-year-old said, adding he would not have been sexually interested in Mr Rapp as he was underage.