Closing arguments are underway in the civil sexual misconduct trial against Kevin Spacey, stemming from allegations made by actor Anthony Rapp.
Attorney Richard Steigman started by presenting a closing argument for Rapp in the New York courtroom on Thursday morning (Friday AEST).
Best recognized for his function in Star Trek: Discovery, Rapp claims that in 1986, Spacey, then 26, invited Rapp, then 14, to his Manhattan dwelling the place he picked Rapp up, laid him down on his mattress, grabbed his buttocks and pressed his groin into Rapp’s physique with out his consent.
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He is suing Spacey for battery.
Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed Rapp’s declare of assault earlier than the trial began and dismissed his declare of intentional infliction of emotional misery after Rapp’s attorneys rested his case, leaving the jury to determine solely the battery declare. Under New York legislation, battery is touching one other particular person, with out their consent, in a method {that a} affordable particular person would discover offensive.
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Spacey, who completed testifying earlier this week, informed the jury Rapp’s allegations weren’t true. The Oscar winner grew emotional a number of occasions throughout his time on the stand, together with when he mentioned an announcement he put out shortly after Rapp went public along with his allegations in 2017 to BuzzFeed.
Spacey has mentioned in his testimony that his publicity group at the time suggested him that he’d be labeled a sufferer blamer if he pushed again.
“I was being encouraged to apologise and I’ve learned a lesson which is never apologize for something you didn’t do,” Spacey testified on Monday. “I regret my entire statement.”
During the course of the nine-day trial, Spacey’s attorneys have tried to poke holes in Rapp’s claims by pointing to discrepancies, together with dates Rapp claimed to have run into Spacey at trade occasions.
Before ending his time on the stand final week, Rapp’s lawyer Peter Saghir requested the actor if he had been mendacity about his allegations against Spacey.
“I have not. It was something that happened to me that was not okay,” Rapp testified.
The case may go to the jury as early as Thursday.
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