Actor will face a maximum of five years in prison if convicted over groping incident that allegedly took place at a bar in 2016



At a minutes-long arraignment on the ritzy Massachusetts island of Nantucket on Monday, Kevin Spacey did not appear to utter a word.

Kevin Spacey case brings attention to Nantucket – where many go to avoid spotlight Read more

The 59-year-old Oscar-winning actor appeared before a judge, alongside his lawyers. He was accused of groping a then 18-year-old man at the Club Car restaurant and bar on the island in 2016.

The charge, of indecent assault and battery, is a felony. If convicted, Spacey will face a maximum of five years in prison and registration as a sex offender.

His lawyers entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf and a pre-trial hearing was set for 4 March. Judge Thomas S Barrett said Spacey would not have to appear then, but must be available by phone. Spacey was ordered to stay away from the alleged victim and his family.

Barrett granted a request by Spacey’s attorneys to preserve the alleged victim’s cellphone data for six months after the date of the alleged assault. Spacey attorney Alan Jackson said there was data within that would be “likely exculpatory”.

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The arraignment brought a media frenzy to an island some of the world’s richest and most famous people retreat to in part because of the invisibility and anonymity it offers. It was standing-room only inside the only courthouse as journalists and curious local residents crowded into the small room. A news helicopter hovered over the island, broadcasting images of Spacey’s arrival and departure.

As he left, Spacey ignored questions shouted by the media and entered an SUV parked outside the courthouse. As he got into the vehicle, an onlooker shouted “Underwood 2020!” – a reference to the American president Spacey played on the Netflix series House of Cards.

Spacey had asked to skip the arraignment, saying his “presence [would] amplify the negative publicity already generated in connection with this case”. That request was denied.

Sexual assault allegations were first publicly raised against Spacey in October 2017 by the actor Anthony Rapp, who said that when he was 14 and Spacey was 26, the older man made a sexual advance on him.

After BuzzFeed published a story detailing Rapp’s allegations, Spacey responded on Twitter, writing: “I honestly do not remember the encounter, it would have been over 30 years ago. But if I did behave as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior and I am sorry for the feelings he describes having carried with him all these years.”

A month after Rapp’s allegations surfaced, Heather Unruh, formerly a Boston TV news anchor, said her son had been groped by Spacey while working as a busboy at the Club Car restaurant.

More than 30 individuals have made allegations against Spacey.

On Christmas Eve, just after prosecutors announced charges had been filed regarding the Nantucket allegations, Spacey released on social media a video in which he appeared to channel his House of Cards character.

At one point, he appeared to address the allegations against him, saying: “You wouldn’t believe the worst without evidence, would you? You wouldn’t rush to judgement without facts, would you?”

But in court on Monday, his demeanour was far removed from the bombastic, confident and combative president he played. He stared silently at the judge.

Spacey arrived on the island by private plane just before the arraignment and left shortly after it finished. In new filings, the attorney Alan Jackson said preserving electronic data would reveal that Unruh’s son joked about the alleged incident and that his mother was the true driving force behind the allegations.

An audio recording of a 20 December court hearing obtained by the Boston Globe also indicated how Spacey’s lawyers might approach the allegation.

In the recording, Jackson highlighted how Unruh’s son did not report the incident right away, how he first approached Spacey, lied about his age, consumed large amounts of alcohol, remained in Spacey’s company and told investigators that when Spacey groped him, he did not tell him to stop or move away despite saying it went on for about three minutes.

“That’s an incredibly long time to have a strange man’s hands in your pants, correct?” Jackson asked state police trooper Gerald Donovan, who interviewed the alleged victim and issued the criminal complaint.

According to the complaint, Unruh’s son said he approached Spacey after he finished his shift at the Club Car, one of the first restaurants visitors see after getting off the high-speed ferry from the mainland. He told investigators he was starstruck and eager to get a photo with the celebrity that he could post on Instagram.

He continued hanging out with Spacey, he said, even though the actor made him uncomfortable when he turned the conversation to penis size and invited the young man back to his place. Later in the evening, he alleges, Spacey reached into his pants and fondled him for about three minutes. When Spacey went to the restroom, the accuser says an unknown woman who had observed the incident told him to escape.

The alleged victim told investigators he did not know what to do when Spacey touched him and that he was afraid of getting in trouble for drinking underage or getting his place of work in trouble.

On Monday, his civil attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, said in a statement: “By reporting the sexual assault, my client is a determined and encouraging voice for those victims not yet ready to report being sexually assaulted. My client is leading by example.”

In the days leading up to the arraignment, many islanders told the Guardian they were dreading the interruption to a calm and quiet winter.

“Nantucket, in general, is uncomfortable being in the spotlight, and especially for this sort of thing,” said Rob Ranney, a real estate broker. “Most people who live here generally understand that all types of celebrities visit the island during the summer, but hopefully leave their real world problems on the mainland. Apparently that was not the case here.”