A US federal judge has ruled that the sex-assault civil lawsuit against actor Kevin Spacey can proceed in federal court in New York City, rejecting his bid to dismiss the case. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said in a written ruling on Monday, June 6, that the allegations that actor Anthony Rapp brought against Spacey established an issue of material fact as to whether Rapp sufficiently alleges that Spacey acted to gratify sexual desire during an encounter at a Manhattan party in 1986 when Rapp was 14. The judge noted that Rapp has alleged that Spacey placed a clothed Rapp on a bed and briefly put his own clothed body partially beside and partially across Rapp’s before Rapp “wriggled out,” got up, and left the premises. In his lawsuit, Rapp seeks compensatory and punitive damages for what he alleges was assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Rapp testified at a deposition that there was no kissing, no undressing, no reaching under clothes, and no sexualized statements or innuendo during an encounter that lasted no more than two minutes, the judge said. Spacey denies all allegations. The ruling comes two weeks after British prosecutors said they had authorized police to charge Spacey with four counts of sexual assault against three men. The alleged incidents occurred in London between 2005 and 2013. Netflix dropped Spacey from his starring role in House of Cards after accusations began surfacing, and the series finished without him.The post Actor, Kevin Spacey must face sexual abuse lawsuit in New York, judge rules appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
