Kevin Spacey Trial: New York Jury Finds 'House of Cards' Actor Not Liable in Sex Abuse Allegations Made by Anthony Rapp

In a civil trial where it was alleged that actor Kevin Spacey had molested a 14-year-old child in the 1980s, Spacey was found not responsible.

Anthony Rapp, a stage and screen actor, has sued the Hollywood celebrity in a legal action for an alleged event that allegedly occurred in 1986 following a party in Spacey's New York apartment.

Kevin Spacey Sexual Battery Case

Spacey was 26 years old and Rapp, who is now 50, was 14 years old. The charges had been categorically denied by Spacey. Richard Steigman, the attorney for Rapp, pleaded with the jury to punish Spacey for attempting to molestation of his client. He asserted that Spacey lied when testifying.

However, Rapp from Star Trek, Discovery made up the meeting, according to Spacey's attorney Jennifer Keller, who urged the jury to disregard Rapp's testimony. Rapp testified in court that Spacey came on top of him as he was lying on a bed and shoved his crotch into his hip until Rapp was able to escape.

Spacey asserted that he had never been by himself with Rapp while on the witness stand and denied the accusation. Throughout the trial, Keller put up numerous hypotheses as to why Rapp would have lied, such as a need for attention or resentment of Spacey's acting success, as per Sky News.

Spacey described how he was shocked and terrified upon learning about the charges in the 2017 Buzzfeed piece during his evidence. Spacey asserted that he had never been alone with Rapp and queried the plausibility of the charge.

As he apologized for coming out in a statement in response to Rapp's charges, which connected an alleged case of paedophilia and homosexuality, Spacey broke down in tears. Rapp described to the jury throughout the trial how he first met Spacey in 1986 while co-starring with Ed Harris in the play Precious Sons.

Rapp claims that the two met while backstage at a play, and Spacey afterwards brought Rapp and another actor buddy, John Barrowman, out to dinner. A few days later, he claimed, Spacey asked him to an apartment.

He testified in court that he went into the bedroom to watch television because he didn't know anyone else there. Later that night, the actor, who appeared to be intoxicated, who was 26 at the time, joined him.

Rapp was persuaded by Keller to acknowledge that it was untrue that Lupita Nyong'o's piece in the New York Times had motivated him to speak out in 2017. In reality, he had begun talking to a Buzzfeed reporter eight days before, according to Daily Mail.

Kevin Spacey Removed From 'House of Cards' Netflix Show

The 'Star Trek' star Rapp accused the Oscar-winning actor of sexually abusing him at a party in 1986 and sued him in 2020 for $40 million in a civil case. The #MeToo movement's aftermath included the sexual assault incident, which quickly ended the career of the well-known movie star.

Following the issue, Spacey is said to have been dropped from the popular Netflix series 'House of Cards' and related films. When Spacey, now 63, was accused of sexual misconduct by several individuals and even of preying on young men, he was appearing as one of the main characters on Netflix's highly anticipated series 'House of Cards.'

The creators of 'House of Cards' sued Spacey for violating his contract over allegations of sexual abuse and demanded that he pay them $31 million to make up for the money they lost when they sacked him. 'Gore Vidal' biography featuring Spacey as the author, was also scrapped by Netflix, despite the fact that it was already in post-production at the time the misconduct claims surfaced.

In addition, the star of American Beauty was dropped from the Ridley Scott-directed film "All the Money in the World," which had already wrapped up filming and was scheduled to hit theaters on December 22.

The cast and the film's production team decided to reshoot the scene, and Christopher Plummer was brought in to play the actor's place. Meanwhile, Spacey's supporters on social media have urged those who fired him improperly to make up for his lost pay or at the very least restore his reputation and popularity, Meaww reported.