The actor Kevin Spacey will travel voluntarily to the UK to face sexual assault charges, he has told a US news outlet.
In a statement given exclusively to ABC’s Good Morning America, Spacey said he was confident he could prove his innocence with respect to five counts relating to alleged attacks against three men in England between 2005 and 2013.
If Spacey, who is based in the US, had not decided to travel to the UK voluntarily, formal extraditions proceedings would have needed to be instigated to secure his return.
In the statement the actor said: “I very much appreciate the Crown Prosecution Service’s statement in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair trial, and innocent until proven otherwise. While I am disappointed with their decision to move forward, I will voluntarily appear in the UK as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence.”
Spacey cannot be formally charged unless he returns to the UK, and pursuing a formal extradition could take several months.
The charges, authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service last week, relate to alleged attacks in London and Gloucestershire, with four for sexual assault and one for causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
Two counts of sexual assault in London in March 2005 relate to one complainant, a man who is now in his 40s.
Another involves a second complainant, a man who is now in his 30s, in London in August 2008. The authorised charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent also relates to the second complainant.
The final authorised charge is sexual assault against a third complainant, a man who is now in his 30s, in Gloucestershire in April 2013.
Sexual assault allegations were first raised publicly against Spacey in October 2017 as the #MeToo movement grew. The Metropolitan police began its investigations the following month.
Spacey has previously denied all of the allegations against him.
Spacey was artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London from 2004 to 2015 and has won two Oscars – a supporting actor award for The Usual Suspects in 1996, and the best actor prize in 2000 for American Beauty. His other notable acting roles include the fictional US president Frank Underwood in Netflix’s House Of Cards, as well as characters in the films Seven, LA Confidential and Baby Driver.
Spacey had largely disappeared from public view since the allegations were made, but it was reported last year that he had taken a small role as a detective in an Italian crime drama about a man wrongly suspected of child abuse.
A trailer for his new film, Peter Five Eight, launched at the Cannes film festival this week. It will be his first major role since abuse allegations against him emerged.
