Actor Kevin Spacey acquitted of all nine sexual offenses in UK trial

A London jury on Wednesday found Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey not guilty on all nine charges he faced related to sexual assault.

Spacey, 64, faced seven sexual assault charges, one count of "causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent" and one count of "causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity," the BBC reported. The charges were related to encounters that allegedly took place between 2001 and 2013, mostly while Spacey worked as an artistic director at London’s Old Vic theater.

The jury deliberated for more than 12 hours across three days on the charges, per CNN. Spacey started crying in court as the not guilty verdicts were read out.

The defense had argued that three of the four accusers lied in their allegations against Spacey and suggested that the fourth accuser was intoxicated.

"It's not a crime to have sex, even if you're famous, and it's not a crime to have casual sex. And it's not a crime to have sex with someone of the same sex because it's 2023 not 1823," defense barrister Patrick Gibbs KC said during the trial, per the British outlet.

Spacey was found not liable for battery in October in a case brought by actor Anthony Rapp.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.