By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON (AP) — Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of sexually assaulting three men a decade or more ago, and was told he would face trial next year.
Spacey, 62, stood in the dock and spoke clearly as he replied “not guilty” to each of the five charges during a hearing at London’s Central Criminal Court, commonly known as the Old Bailey.
Judge Mark Wall set a date of June 6, 2023, for the trial to start and said it would last three to four weeks. It is likely to be at the Old Bailey, the venue for Britain’s highest-profile criminal trials.
The former “House of Cards” star, who ran London’s Old Vic theater between 2004 and 2015, denied four counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The incidents allegedly took place in London between March 2005 and August 2008, and one in western England in April 2013. The victims are now in their 30s and 40s.
