Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to sexual assault charge in Nantucket court


More than a year after facing sexual misconduct accusations, Kevin Spacey made his first appearance in court.
The actor on Monday was arraigned in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he allegedly sexually assaulted an 18-year-old at a bar in 2016. Spacey's attorneys entered his not guilty plea to the charge of felony indecent assault and battery, although Spacey himself did not speak during the arraignment, CNN reports.
Spacey had requested permission not to appear in person for his arraignment — Judge Thomas Barrett denied the request but said Monday that Spacey only needs to be available over the phone for the next hearing, which was scheduled for March, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The judge additionally ordered Spacey to have no contact with the man accusing him of assault, and requested that six months of the accuser's phone data be preserved, The Associated Press reports. Spacey's lawyers say some of the data is "likely exculpatory." If convicted, Spacey could face five years of jail time.
In October 2017, actor Anthony Rapp told BuzzFeed News that Spacey tried to sexually proposition him when he was 14 and Spacey was 26. A wave of misconduct accusations followed, one of which came from news reporter Heather Unruh, who says Spacey groped her son at a Nantucket bar where he worked, leading to Spacey's criminal charges.
On the same day he was charged in December, Spacey released a bizarre YouTube video in which he spoke in character as House of Cards' Frank Underwood to deny the allegations. "I can promise you this," he said. "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."
Watch footage of Spacey's court appearance below. Brendan Morrow
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
The secrets of lab-grown chocolate
Under The Radar Chocolate created 'in a Petri dish' could save crisis-hit industry
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Trade war with China threatens U.S. economy
Feature Trump's tariff battle with China is hitting U.S. businesses hard and raising fears of a global recession
By The Week US
-
Corruption: The road to crony capitalism
Feature Trump's tariff pause sent the stock market soaring — was it insider trading?
By The Week US
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brain
Speed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'
Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggests
Speed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Pharaoh's tomb discovered for first time in 100 years
Speed Read This is the first burial chamber of a pharaoh unearthed since Tutankhamun in 1922
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Scientists report optimal method to boil an egg
Speed Read It takes two temperatures of water to achieve and no fancy gadgets
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Europe records big leap in renewable energy
Speed Read Solar power overtook coal for the first time
By Peter Weber, The Week US