Kevin Spacey settles civil lawsuits over sexual assault claims

Space was first publicly accused of sexual assault in 2017. Cases against him have been dismissed or acquitted.

Kevin Spacey, the award-winning actor who has faced sexual misconduct allegations for nearly a decade, has settled out of court with three accusers ahead of a London trial.

Three separate men had filed civil suits against Spacey, 66, in London's High Court, accusing him of sexual assault between 2000 and 2013. Two of the involved claimants gave evidence during Spacey's 2023 criminal trial in London, where the actor was acquitted of all charges.

A trial for the UK civil suits was set for October, according to court documents, but a March 13 filing shows it had been stayed, or canceled, after an undisclosed settlement was reached. Spacey has denied all wrongdoing and said the incidents alleged in the lawsuits did not happen or were consensual.

Allegations against Spacey first surfaced publicly in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp said Spacey assaulted him at a party in 1986 when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 27. A federal jury found Spacey was not liable on all counts in a civil case Rapp filed against Spacey in 2022.

More accusations followed from 15 other people, many of whom had worked on "House of Cards," in which he starred. Spacey has denied all wrongdoing. He was acquitted by a London jury on nine sexual assault charges lodged by four men in 2023.