Actor Kevin Spacey was this morning granted unconditional bail at a magistrates court hearing in Westminster, London, as the sexual assault case against him was referred to Southwark Crown Court.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikran said he did not believe Spacey, appearing under his full name Kevin Spacey Fowler, posed a flight risk and was therefore free to move freely in the run up to his trial.
Natalie Dawson, prosecuting the case for the Crown, had requested Spacey should surrender his travel documents and passport to ensure that the US citizen does not leave the UK.
Addressing Spacey, Deputy Chief Magistrate Ikran said: “You have co-operated, I’m told, and this has not been at all challenged by the Crown [Prosecution Service], with the authorities in New York and you have voluntarily attended these proceedings today. Indeed, I withdrew the warrant that was issued for your arrest because it was unnecessary. I’ve not been persuaded, bearing in mind, all that I have heard about you that you will fail to surrender, which is the real concern.”
The double-Oscar winner’s case has been referred to Southwark Crown Court at 9.30am on July 14.
Spacey arrived at Westminster Magistrates Court with an entourage of legal advisers wearing a light blue suit, emerging from a Mercedes limousine before being swarmed by legions of photographers, TV news cameramen and reporters. He is being represented by Patrick Gibbs QC, who has represented many high profile clients in the UK.
Following the bail order, Spacey was led out of Court One and waited with his legal team to meet with them in Consultation Room 2. Deadline approached the actor, who nodded in response and then looked away.
Gibbs was the only member of his four-man team to give his name, as three other legal representatives refused to divulge their identities. However, it emerged that Spacey’s instructing solicitor was Oliver Schneider Sikorsky of London’s BCL chambers.
Two members of the court’s security detail stood guard outside the consultation room, which had been reserved for “the occupant” of Court One.
On Monday, Spacey was formally charged with four counts of sexual assault and “causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent,” by the Metropolitan Police following a review of evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The alleged historical offences cover a period of 2005-2013 in London and the county of Gloucester and were against three men all now aged in their 30s and 40s.
Spacey recently said he would “voluntarily” appear in a UK court over the offences. The American Beauty and House of Cards star gave statement to Good Morning America on May 31 in which he said he is “confident” he can prove his innocence.
Once one of Hollywood’s biggest and most bankable stars, Spacey’s career ground to a halt after actor Anthony Rapp first went public with allegations about his sexual conduct in 2017. A series of other complaints followed in both the U.S. and UK. In Britain, Spacey was artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre from 2003-2015 but in November 2017, the theater company revealed it had received 20 allegations of inappropriate behavior against him.
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