Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to groping 18-year-old at bar
Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty on Monday to indecently assaulting a teenager who alleged that the Oscar-winning US actor groped him at a bar in Massachusetts in 2016.
The House Of Cards star, who faces five years in prison if convicted, is accused of repeatedly reaching down into the pants of a man identified as William Little, who was 18 at the time of the alleged attack at a Nantucket restaurant.
Spacey, dressed in a grey coat over a dark blazer and tie, was not asked for his plea during the brief arraignment in a crowded Nantucket courtroom, but his lawyer entered the denial on Spacey's behalf.
A follow-on hearing is scheduled for March 4, but Spacey is not required to attend.
The 59-year-old stood quietly with his hands clasped as the clerk read out the charge "that in the town of Nantucket on July 18, 2016, (the defendant) did commit indecent assault and battery on someone 14 and over" - one his lawyer dismissed as "patently false".
The case marks the first time Spacey has faced sexual misconduct charges, though there are dozens of claims against him.
His alleged victim was working as a bus boy in Nantucket.
After meeting Spacey and telling him he was 23 - the legal drinking age is 21 in Massachusetts - he said he started drinking first beer and then whisky at Spacey's urging.
Spacey allegedly invited him back to his place. The man declined, suspecting Spacey was trying to seduce him.
But he stayed at the bar in the hope of getting a picture with Spacey.
It was then that the actor began molesting the teen, according to court filings. - AFP
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