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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Kevin Spacey Faces Civil Suit Over Nantucket Groping Claims

As his criminal sexual assault trial looms, Kevin Spacey is now facing civil claims from a man who says the disgraced actor groped him in a Nantucket bar three years ago.

NANTUCKET, Mass. (CN) - As his criminal sexual assault trial looms, Kevin Spacey is now facing civil claims from a man who says the disgraced actor groped him in a Nantucket bar three years ago.

Spacey was arraigned in January in Nantucket County Superior Court, where he now also faces a lawsuit filed Wednesday by local resident William Little, who is also at the center of the criminal case.

Little, represented by Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian, was 18 years old and had just completed a busboy shift at the Club Car Restaurant on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, when he says Spacey introduced himself.

The actor, who won Oscars for performances in “The Usual Suspects” and “American Beauty,” allegedly bought Little numerous alcoholic drinks before fondling his genitals. Spacey’s criminal case is based on

“As a result of defendant Kevin Spacey Fowler’s explicit sexual behavior and lewd and lascivious conduct with the plaintiff, the plaintiff suffers, has suffered, and will continue to suffer in the future severe mental distress and emotional injuries,” the five-page complaint states.

Little’s lawsuit asserts claims of assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Spacey’s alleged misconduct came to light in late 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp said Spacey made sexual advances on him when Rapp was 14. Spacey issued a statement claiming he did not remember the 1986 incident, while also publicly coming out as a gay man.

In the weeks following Rapp’s revelation, about a dozen other men came forward with accusations of sexual misconduct by the actor, who was subsequently fired from the Netflix show “House of Cards.”

Earlier this month, Spacey’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the criminal charges because of alleged prosecutorial misconduct based on the claim that there was a missing cellphone with evidence about the June 2016 night when the alleged incident with Little occurred.

The actor was charged with indecent assault and battery and faces up to 2 ½ years in jail if convicted. The next hearings in the case are set for next month.

Little’s attorney, Garabedian, famously secured a $10 million settlement 17 years ago for victims of Boston’s Catholic Church sex abuse scandal.

Garabedian declined to comment on the civil suit due to the impending criminal trial.

Attorney Alan Jackson, who is defending Spacey against the criminal charges, did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment.

Categories / Entertainment, Law

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