Hollywood
star
Kevin
Spacey
has
been
charged
with
four
counts
of
sexual
assault
against
three
men,
the
UK’s
Crown
Prosecution
Service
(CPS)
said
on
Thursday.
The
62-year-old
Oscar-winning
American
actor,
behind
famous
films
such
as
Usual
Suspects
and
American
Beauty
and
the
Netflix
political
drama
House
of
Cards,
has
also
served
as
artistic
director
of
London’s
Old
Vic
theatre
from
2004
to
2015.
“The
CPS
has
authorised
criminal
charges
against
Kevin
Spacey,
62,
for
four
counts
of
sexual
assault
against
three
men,”
said
Rosemary
Ainslie,
Head
of
the
CPS
Special
Crime
Division.
“He
has
also
been
charged
with
causing
a
person
to
engage
in
penetrative
sexual
activity
without
consent.
The
charges
follow
a
review
of
the
evidence
gathered
by
the
Metropolitan
Police
in
its
investigation,”
she
said.
"The
Crown
Prosecution
Service
reminds
all
concerned
that
criminal
proceedings
against
Mr
Spacey
are
active
and
that
he
has
the
right
to
a
fair
trial,"
she
added.
The
CPS
said
it
is
extremely
important
there
should
be
no
reporting,
commentary
or
sharing
of
information
online
which
could
in
any
way
prejudice
these
proceedings.
The
charges
date
back
to
March
2005
in
London
against
a
man
now
in
his
40s
and
two
others
dated
August
2008
against
a
man
now
in
his
30s.
A
charge
dated
April
2013
relates
to
sexual
assault
in
Gloucestershire,
south-west
England,
against
a
man
now
in
his
30s.
The
charges
announced
this
week
follow
an
investigation
launched
by
Scotland
Yard
back
in
2017.
“The
CPS'
charging
decision
follows
a
review
of
the
evidence
gathered
by
the
Metropolitan
Police
Service
in
its
investigation,”
the
Met
Police
said.
The
CPS
highlighted
that
it
is
not
for
the
prosecution
service
to
decide
whether
a
person
is
guilty
of
a
criminal
offence,
but
to
make
“fair,
independent
and
objective
assessments
about
whether
it
is
appropriate
to
present
charges
for
a
criminal
court
to
consider”.
It
noted
that
the
CPS
assessment
of
any
case
is
not
in
any
sense
a
finding
of,
or
implication
of,
any
guilt
or
criminal
conduct.
It
is
not
a
finding
of
fact,
which
can
only
be
made
by
a
court,
but
rather
an
assessment
of
what
it
might
be
possible
to
prove
to
a
court,
in
accordance
with
the
Code
for
Crown
Prosecutors,
the
CPS
said.
The
actor,
whose
full
name
is
Kevin
Spacey
Fowler,
has
previously
denied
allegations
against
him.