Kevin Spacey: Judge rules sexual assault lawsuit against embattled actor can proceed

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Actor accuses Kevin Spacey of sexual misconduct

Anthony Rapp claims he was 14 when the Oscar-winning actor made a sexual advance toward him; Spacey says he does not remember but is sorry.

A New York City federal court judge has ruled that a sexual assault civil lawsuit filed against Kevin Spacey can proceed despite the longtime actor’s efforts to have the case dismissed, recent court papers show. 

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled Monday that actor Anthony Rapp’s allegations against Spacey raised "a genuine issue of material fact" as to whether Spacey allegedly acted with the purpose of gratifying "sexual desire," Kaplan wrote in his Monday opinion.  

Kevin Spacey is accused of sexually assaulting actor Anthony Rapp when Rapp was 14 in 1986.  (Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage/Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket)

Rapp accused Spacey, whose full name is Kevin Spacey Fowler, of sexually assaulting him in Manhattan in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old. 

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Rapp has said Spacey "lifted him up" and that his hand "grazed" Rapp’s "clothed buttock for seconds as he did so," court papers state. Spacey then allegedly placed Rapp on a bed and "briefly placed his own clothed body partially beside and partially across Mr. Rapp’s." Rapp was able to wriggle out and then got up and left, according to court papers. 

READ THE JUDGE'S RULING HERE:

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Rapp’s suit accuses Spacey of assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery and seeks punitive and compensatory damages.

Spacey, 62, has denied the allegations. 

"Mr. Rapp testified at his deposition that there was no kissing, no undressing, no reaching under clothes, and no sexualized statements or innuendo," the judge’s ruling states. "He acknowledges that the entire incident took no more than two minutes." 
 

Kevin Spacey leaves Manhattan Federal Court after a hearing to verify his place of residency (Curtis Means)

Kaplan dismissed one of the allegations against Spacey, arguing that the claim did not fall within those that could be applied via the New York State Child Victims Act. The Child Victims Act allows accusers to file claims in certain instances when the statute of limitations would have prevented them from doing so.  

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Just last month, British prosecutors charged Spacey with four counts of sexual assault. Prosecutors accused Spacey of sexually assaulting three men in London between 2005 and 2013.