Kevin Spacey faces British court hearing on sex assault charges

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Actor Kevin Spacey arrives at the Old Bailey, in London, Thursday, July 14, 2022. / AP

LONDON — Kevin Spacey has arrived at London's Central Criminal Court, where he is due to enter a plea on charges of sexually assaulting three men a decade and a half ago.

Spacey, 62, arrived at the court, known as the Old Bailey, more than an hour before Thursday's hearing was due to start.

The hearing is the two-time Oscar winner's first chance to formally answer five charges relating to offenses against three men. His lawyer previously said that Spacey "strenuously denies" the allegations.

Spacey was granted bail and allowed to return to the United States after a preliminary hearing last month. A judge is expected to set a timeline for his trial on Thursday.

The former "House of Cards" star, who ran London's Old Vic theater between 2004 and 2015, is accused of four counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

The incidents allegedly took place in London between March 2005 and August 2008, and one in western England in April 2013. The victims are now in their 30s and 40s.

Spacey won a best supporting actor Academy Award for the 1995 film "The Usual Suspects" and a lead actor Oscar for the 1999 movie "American Beauty."

But his celebrated career came to an abrupt halt in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused the star of assaulting him at a party in the 1980s, when Rapp was a teenager. Spacey denies the allegations.

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