Ahead of the January 7 arraignment at the Nantucket District Court, Kevin Spacey has been denied a request to be absent from the proceedings. Spacey is expected to appear at court in relation to accusations dating back to 2016 when it is alleged he groped a young man.
According to Fox News , Kevin Spacey, 59, had requested via his legal team he not be present at the court proceedings. His reasoning for his absence was cited as not wanting to add to “negative publicity” surrounding the case.
“I am requesting that this court excuse my physical presence at the arraignment as I reside out-of-state and believe that my presence will amplify the negative publicity already generated in connection with this case,” Spacey’s affidavit states, according to Variety .
However, Judge Thomas Barrett disagreed with this opinion on Monday and ordered Spacey to be present on January 7. According to the Boston Globe , a newly released affidavit states that Spacey will plead not guilty to felony indecent assault and battery charges during the upcoming case.
Allegations against Kevin Spacey emerged in November 2017 after former Boston TV anchorwoman Heather Unruh alleged that Kevin Spacey “groped her teenage son in the bar area of a Nantucket restaurant.”
Police say there is video evidence of alleged Kevin Spacey sexual assault https://t.co/dvF7hxakXY pic.twitter.com/p8YfgiKqhi
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 27, 2018
Since then, Spacey has denied the allegations and, as previously reported by the Inquisitr , released a video in which he says, “I’m certainly not going to pay the price for the thing I didn’t do.” The video does not officially confirm that Spacey was talking about his upcoming court case and the allegations made against him in the video which saw him portraying his House of Cards character, President Frank Underwood. However, many saw it as a bizarre attempt by the actor to discuss the allegations, albeit in a strange and roundabout manner.
In addition to this upcoming court case, there have been further allegations made against Kevin Spacey according to Variety . A September court case sees “an anonymous massage therapist alleging that Spacey had forcibly touched his genitals during a session and offered to perform oral sex on him.” Anthony Rapp also maintains that Spacey “made a pass at him at a New York party in 1986.” Rapp was 14 years of age at the time of the incident.
As the Boston Globe points out, Kevin Spacey is expected to be present at Nantucket District Court at 11 a.m. for the scheduled court appearance. In addition, according to Massachusetts Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Michael K. Giardino and state law, all defendants are required to appear for criminal case procedures unless their appearance is waived by a judge.
