Actor Kevin Spacey will voluntarily travel to the UK to face charges of sexual assault, he told an American news media.
In a statement made exclusively to ABC’s Good Morning America, Spacey said he was confident he could prove his innocence on five charges related to alleged attacks on three men in England between 2005 and 2013.
If the U.S.-based Spacey had not decided to travel to the United Kingdom voluntarily, formal extradition proceedings would have had to be initiated to secure his return.
In the statement, the plaintiff said: “I am very grateful for the statement from the Crown Prosecution Service in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair and innocent trial until proven otherwise. Although I am disappointed with his decision to move forward, I will voluntarily apply to the UK as soon as I can and defend myself against these charges, which I am sure will prove my innocence. “
Spacey cannot be formally charged unless he returns to the United Kingdom, and the search for a formal extradition could take several months.
The charges, authorized by the Crown Prosecution Service last week, relate to alleged assaults in London and Gloucestershire, with four for sexual assault and one for causing a person to engage in penetrating sexual activity without consent.
Two charges of sexual assault in London in March 2005 relate to a whistleblower, a man now in his 40s.
Another involves a second complainant, a 30-year-old man, in London in August 2008. The authorized charge of causing a person to engage in penetrating sexual activity without consent is also related to the second complainant.
The latest charge is sexual assault against a third complainant, a man now in his 30s, in Gloucestershire in April 2013.
Allegations of sexual assault were first made public against Spacey in October 2017 as the #MeToo movement grew. Metropolitan police began their investigation the following month.
Spacey has previously denied all charges against him.
Spacey was artistic director of the Old Vic Theater in London from 2004 to 2015 and has won two Oscars: a Supporting Actor Award for The Usual Suspects in 1996 and a Best Actor Award in 2000 for American Beauty. His other notable acting roles include fictional U.S. President Frank Underwood in Netflix’s House Of Cards, as well as characters from the movies Seven, LA Confidential, and Baby Driver.
Spacey had largely disappeared from public view since the allegations were made, but last year it was reported that he had played a small role as a detective in an Italian crime drama about a man wrongly suspected of child abuse. .
The trailer for his new film, Peter Five Eight, has been unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival this week. It will be his first major role since allegations of abuse against him arose.