UPDATED at 5.09am PT: The jury has been sworn in for Kevin Spacey’s trial, with a judge telling the 14 to “do not use your computers for anything related to this trial.
The American beauty star, who is accused of sexual offenses against four men, stared intently at the nine male and three female jurors as they made their way to their seats. Two alternate jurors were also selected to attend the opening of the indictment.
Mr Justice Wall told the jury of 14 that the case had “quite obviously” attracted a lot of media attention, but that they “should avoid that coverage whenever they can”.
He warned them not to use computers to search for “anything related to this process.”
Before jury selection, Wall told prospective jurors, “I’m sure the defendant will be pleased to know that many of you will know his name or have seen his movies.”
EARLIER: In the past few minutes, Kevin Spacey has arrived at the UK Crown Court to face a month-long trial after being accused of sexually assaulting four men.
In a process that will decide whether the Oscar winner American beauty star still has a future in the film and television world, Spacey denies 12 charges, including sexual assault and indecent assault.
He arrived this morning by taxi wearing a pink tie and navy suit, taking a moment to smile, wave and say “Good morning” to the people gathered outside the courthouse before entering the building.
The trial at Southwark Crown Court will last four weeks and it is not yet known whether Spacey will take the stand in his defence. After being charged earlier this year, he appeared briefly via video link to confirm his name in April, but is expected to be in Southwark for the trial. It has an unconditional guarantee.
At the original hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June, Spacey’s barrister, Patrick Gibbs QC, said his client “vehemently denies any wrongdoing in this case”. Speaking of ZEIT magazine earlier this month, Spacey said that “there are people right now who are willing to hire me the moment I’m cleared of these charges in London.”
Spacey pleaded not guilty in January to three counts of indecent assault, three counts of sexual assault and one count of inducing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. The two-time Oscar winner also previously denied four other counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The 63-year-old, whose real name is Kevin Spacey Fowler and who also starred in House of Cards, The Usual Suspects and se7en will hear about allegations between 2001 and 2013. He was also artistic director at The Old Vic theater in London between 2004 and 2015. The Old Vic is investigating after receiving 20 allegations of inappropriate behavior against the star and a subsequent report said, that there was a “cult of personality” around him.
Spacey is getting used to facing high-profile lawsuits that attract tons of media attention. Last year, he won a $40 million civil suit in New York after a highly publicized sexual misconduct lawsuit brought by Star Trek: Discovery star Anthony Rapp. Rapp had accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him at a party when he was 14 and Spacey was 26, but the jury deliberated for just over an hour before deciding that Rapp had not proven his allegations.
Spacey has an address in Waterloo, South London, but also lives in the US, where he has a family and a dog. His lawyer, Gibbs, said he had returned to the UK “to establish his innocence” and “get on with his life”.
The process is expected to conclude at the end of next month.