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.
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Feature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
Music reviews: Tune-Yards and PinkPantheress
Feature "Better Dreaming" and "Fancy That"
-
Withdrawing 529 plan funds for college? Here's what to know.
the explainer Maximize the amount you have stashed away for your education
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
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
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
-
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
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'
Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'