Kevin Spacey Accused of Sexual Misconduct Against Teenagers in 1980s in New Lawsuit

Kevin Spacey is being sued by actor Anthony Rapp and an anonymous man, who filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the actor of sexual offenses against them in the 1980s when they were both about 14 years old, adding to the long list of accusations of sexual misconduct against Spacey made over the last four years.

Rapp alleges in the lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday that Spacey “engaged in an unwanted sexual advance” with him when he was 14 at a party at Spacey’s home in 1986, which he had previously described in a 2017 BuzzFeed article, leading to a wave of sexual misconduct allegations being made against Spacey. No criminal charges have been filed in association with the case as of the lawsuit being filed. The second plaintiff, identified as C.D., alleges he and Spacey “engaged in sexual acts” on multiple occasions in the early 1980s when he was underage.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Peter Saghir, told The New York Times that the lawsuit was being brought under the Child Victims Act, enacted last year, which extended New York’s statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse. While previously, civil or criminal charges had been brought before the victim’s 23rd birthday, under the new law, victims can sue until age 55 and criminal charges can be brought until age 28. Both Rapp and the other plaintiff are past the criminal statute of limitations, but are seeking damages for the severe emotional distress they experienced because of Spacey’s alleged abuse. The actor’s lawyer, Jennifer L. Keller, declined to comment on Wednesday.

When Rapp first came forward in 2017 with his abuse allegations, Spacey said in a statement that he was
“beyond horrified” and did not remember the incident but said, “If I did behave then as he describes, I owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.”

In 2016, Spacey was also charged with sexual assault in Nantucket, Massachusetts, after an 18-year-old man accused the actor of fondling him in a restaurant. The case was dropped in 2019 after the individual refused to continue testifying. In 2017, the Old Vic theater in London reported that 20 people came forward with allegations of inappropriate behavior by Spacey from 1995 to 2013, during which he served as the theater’s artistic director.