Lawyers for Kevin Spacey entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in Massachusetts court on Monday after being accused of groping an 18-year-old busboy in 2016.
Mr Spacey was released without having to pay bail on a charge of felony indecent assault and battery after a 10-minute hearing at Nantucket District Court.
The judge set another hearing for March 4. Mr Spacey does not have to appear, but has to be available by phone and was told not to make any contact with the alleged victim or his family.
_______________
Read more:
Kevin Spacey faces charge in sexual assault of teenager
_______________
The judge granted a request by Mr Spacey’s lawyers to preserve text messages and other data on the phones of the victim and his then-girlfriend on the day of the alleged assault and six months after.
Alan Jackson, Mr Spacey’s lawyer, told the judge they believe the phones contain information that is “likely exculpatory” for his client.
Mr Spacey and his lawyers declined to comment as they left the courthouse amid a crush of reporters. The actor, wearing a grey suit, navy vest and polka dot tie, did not speak during the hearing.
The hearing comes more than a year after a former Boston TV anchor accused the former House of Cards star of sexually assaulting her son, then 18, in the crowded bar at the Club Car, where the teen worked as a busboy.
Mr Spacey’s lawyers have tried to poke holes in the case, noting that the teenager didn’t immediately report the allegations and that authorities have no witnesses to the actual groping.
In court documents, Mr Spacey’s lawyers say that the young man lied about his age, “welcomed drinks” bought by Mr Spacey, left the bar with him to smoke a cigarette and gave the actor his phone number.
“At best, this describes two people engaged in mutual and consensual flirtation, nothing more,” his attorneys wrote. If convicted, Mr Spacey faces up to five years in prison.
The civil attorney for the accuser ahead of the hearing that his client is "leading by example."
“By reporting the sexual assault, my client is a determined and encouraging voice for those victims not yet ready to report being sexually assaulted,” said lawyer Mitchell Garabedian, who represented victims in the Boston area during the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal.
It's the first criminal case brought against Mr Spacey, 59, since other allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in 2017.
After the charge was announced last month, Mr Spacey released a video in the voice of Frank Underwood, his character on Netflix's House of Cards, in which he said, "I'm certainly not going to pay the price for the thing I didn't do." It was unclear whether he was referring to the charge.
Mr Spacey has also faced other allegations. His first accuser, actor Anthony Rapp, said Spacey climbed on top of him on a bed when Rapp was 14 and Spacey 26. Spacey said he did not remember such an encounter but apologized if the allegations were true.
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
UK%20record%20temperature
%3Cp%3E38.7C%20(101.7F)%20set%20in%20Cambridge%20in%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
Teenage%20Mutant%20Ninja%20Turtles%3A%20Shredder's%20Revenge
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETribute%20Games%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dotemu%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20One%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
