Kevin Spacey: Jury retires to think about verdicts as sexual offences trial attracts to a detailed

Jurors have been despatched out to start their deliberations after listening to closing proof within the sexual offences trial towards US actor Kevin Spacey.

Spacey, 63, has been labelled a “sexual bully” by the prosecution, however he has denied all of the claims – describing one as “madness”, others as consensual encounters, and one as nothing greater than a possible “clumsy pass”.

The Oscar-winning star has pleaded not responsible to seven fees of sexual assault, one cost of inflicting an individual to have interaction in sexual exercise with out consent, and one rely of inflicting an individual to have interaction in penetrative sexual exercise. These relate to 4 males and allegedly befell within the UK between 2001 and 2013.

Kevin Spacey trial – live updates

Almost 4 weeks for the reason that trial at Southwark Crown Court in London started, Mr Justice Mark Wall despatched jurors out to think about their verdicts on Monday.

During the listening to, jurors have heard proof from every of Spacey’s 4 accusers, who variously described the Hollywood star as a “vile sexual predator”, “slippery”, and “atrocious, despicable, disgusting”.

The court docket has been informed of alleged “aggressive” crotch grabs towards three males, whereas a fourth complainant accused the defendant of performing a intercourse act on him whereas he was asleep at his flat.

What are the allegations – and the way has Kevin Spacey responded?

• Accuser one: The man, a driver, claims he was assaulted greater than 10 instances by Spacey over 4 years, and informed the court docket the actor pressured his hand onto his personal penis a number of instances, and grabbed his crotch on different events. Describing one alleged incident to police, the person stated Spacey grabbed him “so hard I almost came off the road”. Spacey informed the court docket the pair shared a “somewhat intimate” friendship and there was “romantic” touching, however that they by no means slept collectively. Any sexual touching was consensual, the actor informed the court docket.
• Accuser two: This man alleges Spacey grabbed his crotch and kissed his neck at a property the place the star was staying, hours after assembly him at a countryside pub. Spacey conceded that he could have made a “clumsy pass” on the man, however that it could have been not more than this. “I’m only happy that he testified that the moment he told me he was not interested, I stopped,” the actor informed jurors.
• Accuser three: The third alleged sufferer says Spacey subjected him to a “machine gun” of verbal abuse at a showbiz occasion earlier than grabbing his genitals “like a cobra – and grabbed with such force it was really painful”. Spacey informed the court docket that none of that is true, describing the allegation as “madness”.
• Accuser 4: A former aspiring actor informed the jury he believes he was drugged by Spacey earlier than he allegedly woke to search out him performing a intercourse act on him on the actor’s London flat. In his defence, Spacey informed the court docket the intercourse act was “intimate” and consensual. However, he stated the person’s behaviour then modified. “The person that I had this intimate moment with was suddenly awkward and fumbling… and I don’t want to say ran out… but hurriedly left,” he stated. “And it felt very odd.”

Under questioning from Spacey’s lawyer, Patrick Gibbs KC, the lads have all denied both looking for monetary acquire, making an attempt to additional their profession, or giving false accounts to the jury.

Spacey, finest identified for movies together with The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, and political collection House Of Cards, has denied crotch-grabs are his “trademark”, and in addition fought again tears as he informed the court docket how his “world exploded” when allegations towards him had been first made within the US in 2017.