Actor Kevin Spacey has been found not responsible in a civil trial claiming he sexually abused a 14-year-old boy in the 1980s.
The Hollywood star was previously sued by stage and screen actor Anthony Rapp over an alleged incident after a party at Spacey’s New York apartment in 1986.
Rapp, now 50, was 14 at the time, while Spacey was 26. Spacey The allegations have been “categorically denied”.
Anthony Rapp in May
Rapp’s attorney, Richard Stegman, had urged jurors to make Spacey pay for trying to harass his client. He accused Spacey of lying on the witness stand.
But Spacey’s attorney, Jennifer Keller, told jurors that Rapp fabricated the encounter and said they should reject his claims.
Courtroom sketches show Kevin Spacey being cross-examined during New York trial
Star Trek: Discovery star Rapp, 50, and Spacey, 63, testified within days of each other during the three-week trial. The lawsuit seeks $40 million in damages.
The verdict in a Manhattan federal court civil trial concluded that the trial stemmed from the #MeToo movement.