British prosecutors announced Thursday that they had granted police permission to charge Kevin Spacey with four counts each of sexual assault against three men. This announcement came while Spacey was appearing in New York City courtrooms for a different case.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, it has "authorized criminal prosecutions" for four counts of sex assault and one count of "causing someone to engage in penetrative sex activity without consent."
These alleged incidents occurred in London in March 2005, August 2008 and April 2013, and in western England in April 2013. They are in their 40s and 30s now.
Rosemary Ainslie is the head of the Special Crime Division of the service. She said that the charges were based on a review of evidence from London's Metropolitan Police.
Initial statements by the prosecution stated that Spacey was being charged. They later clarified that Spacey had been charged, but not officially.
Spacey is now facing criminal charges after being authorized to do so. According to the police, Spacey, who is not currently in Britain, "will be formally charged at later dates."
Prosecutors could request extradition proceedings if Spacey doesn't return to Britain to face these charges.
British police interrogated Spacey, a double Academy Award winner of 62 years, in 2019 over claims that he assaulted several men. Spacey, a former star of "House of Cards", ran London's Old Vic Theatre from 2004 to 2015.
Spacey was awarded a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for "The Usual Suspects," 1995, and a Lead Actor Oscar for "American Beauty," 1999.
His famed career was stopped abruptly in 2017 after Anthony Rapp, an actor, accused Spacey of assaulting him at an 80s party when he was just a teenager. Spacey denied the accusations.
Spacey gave evidence Thursday in New York City's courtroom regarding a civil lawsuit brought by Rapp. Spacey did not respond to reporters when he left the courthouse, talking on his cell phone.
Rapp's lawyers briefly mentioned the British charges during the court hearing. Spacey's lawyers were also asked by reporters about it during a break during testimony. They declined to comment.
Massachusetts prosecutors dismissed another criminal case against Spacey in 2019, an indecent assault charge and battery stemming out of the alleged groping an 18-year old man at a Nantucket Resort.
Thursday's New York City court session dealt with a technical question in the civil suit, whether it should be handled in a state or federal U.S. court. Spacey was asked to testify about his location, and not the truthfulness of the accusations against him.
Spacey stated that Baltimore is his principal residence. He also said that he moved there to film "House of Cards". However, he also spoke about his time in London as the artistic chief of the Old Vic.
He said that it was important for him to be liked by the British public and that he wasn't running away. He also noted that his beginning in Britain was rocky due to a "disastrous" production of Arthur Miller's last play in 2005.
