A federal judge rejected this Monday (6) the attempt to Kevin Spacey to file a civil suit in which the actor Anthony Rapp accused him of making an unwanted sexual advance during a party at Spacey’s Manhattan house in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old.
Judge Lewis Kaplan said there is a genuine factual dispute over whether Spacey, now 62, forcibly touched Rapp’s “private parts”.
The judge said Rapp, who is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages, could pursue a case of assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Lawyers for Spacey and Rapp did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Once one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, with Oscar awards for “American Beauty” and “The Usual Suspects,” Spacey has all but disappeared from public view since he was publicly accused of sexual misconduct in 2017.
Spacey said at the time that he had no recollection of the alleged encounter with Rapp, but that if it did, he owed Rapp an apology “for what would have been profoundly inappropriate drunken behavior”.
Rapp stated under oath that the alleged encounter did not involve kissing, stripping, putting a hand under clothing, sexualized statements or innuendo, and did not last more than two minutes.
Meanwhile, Spacey has also been accused of sexual assault against three men in England, and said last week that he would go to the country “as soon as he can” to face the charges.
Source: CNN Brasil
