Former “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty to groping an 18-year-old boy at a bar in 2016.
The award-winning actor entered the plea during his arraignment hearing in a Nantucket, Massachusetts courtroom on Monday. The charge—indecent assault and battery—is a felony that could land Spacey in prison for up to five years, CNN reports.
This case is one of a handful against Spacey, who has been facing several allegations of sexual assault and harassment since the beginning of the #MeToo movement. The latest accusation became public in Nov. 2017 when a former Boston news anchor claimed Spacey had groped her teenage son.
Her son, a busboy at a Nantucket restaurant and bar, had befriended Spacey during a work shift in 2016. Although he was 18 at the time, the boy reportedly told Spacey he was 23. After the busboy’s shift ended at midnight, CNN reports, he began talking to Spacey, who bought him a number of alcoholic drinks.
Later, Spacey allegedly began rubbing the boy’s thigh, then proceeded to unzip his pants and touch him inappropriately for about three minutes. A Snapchat video the boy sent to his girlfriend allegedly shows Spacey rubbing the front of his pants.
The alleged victim states he left the restaurant when Spacey went to the restroom.
During a previous court hearing, Spacey’s attorney Alan Jackson pointed out that the boy had lied about his age, claimed to be extremely intoxicated, and did not move away from Spacey. The accuser has claimed it was too crowded to move away.
On Monday, a judge said that Spacey does not have to appear in person for his next scheduled hearing on March 4 but must be available by phone. Spacey was also ordered to stay away from the alleged victim and his family.
The defense requested the court preserves the alleged victim’s cell phone data from the date of the reported incident until six months afterward—information Spacey’s lawyers believe will be “likely exculpatory,” CNN reports.
