NANTUCKET (MA)
CBS News
January 7, 2019
Kevin Spacey appeared in court Monday to answer a sexual assault charge as his lawyers filed new court documents calling into question allegations he groped a young man in a bar on the resort island of Nantucket in 2016.
Spacey’s arraignment 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.
The actor’s lawyers entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf to a charge of felony indecent assault and battery. The two-time Oscar winner smiled and chuckled with his lawyer before the proceeding began, but otherwise didn’t speak, reports CBS News’ Jericka Duncan, who was seated behind him in the courtroom.
A judge granted a prosecutor’s request that Spacey, 59, be ordered to stay away from the accuser and have no contact with him. Spacey nodded slightly when a judge asked if he understood.
A judge had previously denied Spacey’s bid to avoid appearing in person Monday at Nantucket District Court. Spacey had argued his presence would “amplify the negative publicity already generated” by the case. On Monday, the judge granted a defense request to preserve cellphone evidence and set a preliminary hearing date for March 4. Spacey will not have to appear at the March hearing, but he must be available by phone.
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