Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to groping 18-year-old man in 2016

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Kevin Spacey has pleaded not guilty to groping a young man at a bar in 2016.

The Oscar-winning actor had to push through a crowd of journalists and cameras as he arrived at Massachusetts district court on Monday.

Spacey did not speak during the hearing and his lawyers entered the not guilty plea on his behalf.

The 59-year-old actor faces charges over indecent assault and battery.

Kevin Spacey is surrounded by media outside court
Reuters

He appeared relaxed and happy as he sat in the courtroom for a hearing which lasted a matter of minutes.

It is the first criminal case brought against Spacey since other allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him in 2017.

If convicted, the former House of Cards star faces up to five years in prison.

Kevin Spacey, pictured right, is escorted by a court officer as he appears at the Nantucket District Court
EPA

The hearing comes more than a year after a former Boston TV anchor accused Spacey of sexually assaulting her son, then 18, in a crowded bar at the Club Car, where the teenager worked.

Spacey's lawyer, Alan Jackson, sought to poke holes in the case, noting that the alleged victim didn't immediately report the allegations.

If convicted, Spacey faces as many as five years in prison.

Kevin Spacey is led into court by police
EPA

The civil attorney for the accuser said in a statement ahead of the hearing that his client is "leading by example."

"By reporting the sexual assault, my client is a determined and encouraging voice for those victims not yet ready to report being sexually assaulted," said lawyer Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented hundreds of clergy sexual abuse victims.

Garabedian is not a part of the criminal case against Spacey.

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