A young man who accused actor Kevin Spacey of groping him in 2016 has dropped a civil lawsuit lawsuit against him.

Spacey was accused of getting the 18-year-old man drunk and groping the teenager in the Nantucket restaurant where he worked.

The actor still faces a criminal charge for the incident. He pleaded not guilty to indecent assault and battery in January.

His accuser’s lawyer announced in an email the lawsuit in Nantucket superior court had been voluntarily dismissed.

The lawsuit was dismissed “with prejudice”, meaning it cannot be refiled.

No reason was provided either by the accuser’s attorney or in the court filing. The accuser’s lawyer also refused to comment further, AP reports.

It is unclear if the parties settled out of court, or if there was another reason the lawsuit was abandoned.

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The civil suit was most likely filed before completion of the criminal case due to the three-year statute of limitations approaching, legal expert told AP. It’s also possible the prosecution encouraged the young man to drop the civil suit.

“Maybe the prosecution said it’s either about money or it’s about a crime, but it can’t be about both and you have to make a decision on where you want to go with this,” said David Yannetti.

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“We’re operating with very little info, but it’s clear something unusual is going on here,” said Mr Yanetti.