Kevin Spacey Charged With Felony Sexual Assault

The actor — who posted a bizarre 'House of Cards'-style video address Monday — will be arraigned in Massachusetts on Jan. 7.

The Cape and Islands, Mass., district attorney announced Monday that Kevin Spacey will face a charge of felony sexual assault, authorities told The Hollywood Reporter.

A public show-cause hearing was held for the case Dec. 20 where Clerk Magistrate Ryan Kearney issued a criminal complaint for the charge “against Kevin S. Fowler, also known as Kevin Spacey," THR confirmed.

The actor will be arraigned on a charge of indecent assault and battery at Nantucket District Court on Jan. 7, 2019.

The alleged assault on a male victim took place at a Nantucket bar in July 2016.

Last year, former Boston TV news anchor Heather Unruh held a press conference to share her son's allegation of sexual assault against Spacey. Her then 18-year-old son she said was sexually assaulted by Spacey inside the Club Car Restaurant on Nantucket. Unruh says her son, who was not of legal drinking age, told Spacey he was and that the actor "bought him drink after drink after drink."

"My son was a starstruck, straight 18-year-old young man who had no idea that the famous actor was an alleged sexual predator or that he was about to become his next victim," she said at the time. "When my son was drunk, Spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him."

Mitchell Garabedian, the attorney for the alleged victim, said in a statement Monday, "The complainant has shown a tremendous amount of courage in coming forward. Let the facts be presented, the relevant law applied and a just and fair verdict rendered."

As news of the arraignment broke Monday, a video was shared from Spacey's official Twitter account of the actor seemingly addressing real-life events while in character as Frank Underwood from House of Cards. The video is titled "Let Me Be Frank."

Wearing a Christmas apron, Spacey assumes the accent and signature fourth wall-breaking style of his onscreen alter ego to speak to viewers in the video, similar to how he did for five seasons on the Netflix political drama. House of Cards wrote Spacey out of its sixth and final season after allegations against him mounted — killing him offscreen and revealing the details of his disgraceful departure in the finale. Netflix also buried his character with an actual gravesite in Frank's hometown in South Carolina.

In the bizarre video, the actor addresses his House of Cards fate while also saying that he knows his fans want him back.

"I know what you want," Spacey begins in Frank's accent. "Oh sure, they may have tried to separate us, but what we have is too strong, too powerful. After all, we shared everything, you and I. I told you my deepest, darkest secrets. I showed you exactly what people are capable of. I shocked you with my honestly, but mostly I challenged you and made you think. And you trusted me, even though you knew you shouldn't. So we're not done, no matter what anyone says. And besides, I know what you want. You want me back."

The video marks the first public showing from Spacey since the first allegation was made against him, by actor Anthony Rapp, in late 2017. The three-minute scene sees Spacey calling out "poppycock" headlines and an "impeachment without a trial."

"Of course, some believed everything and have been just waiting with bated breath to hear me confess it all. They're just dying to have me declare that everything said is true and that I got what I deserved. Only you and I both know it's never that simple, not in politics and not in life," he says. "All this presumption made for such an unsatisfying ending, and to think it could have been such a memorable sendoff." He goes on to say that in both life and in art, nothing should be off the table: "I can promise you this. If I didn't pay the price for the things we both know I did do, I'm certainly not going to pay the price for the things I didn't do."

He ends by directly calling out his death on House of Cards. The former star of the Robin Wright-led drama, who also served as an executive producer before he was fired, puts on Frank's signature ring before walking off. "My confidence grows each day that soon enough, you will know the full truth," he says. "Wait a minute, now that I think of it, you never actually saw me die, did you? Conclusions can be so deceiving."

Spacey is still under investigation in Los Angeles and in England for other alleged sexual assaults.

Netflix had no comment on the video.

A legal representative for Spacey did not reply to THR’s request for comment.

The Boston Globe first reported Spacey had been charged.

Jackie Strause contributed to this story.