‘House of Cards’ actor Kevin Spacey on Thursday was charged with four counts of sexual aasault against three men. A Crown Prosecution Service also charged the 62-year-old with a fifth count for ‘causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent’. 

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“The charges follow a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,” Rosemary Ainslie, Head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said. 

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Spacey are active and that he has the right to a fair trial,” she added.

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The incidents took place between March 2005 and August 2008. A London man now in his 40s and one in his 30s are the alleged victims. A charge dated April 2013 relates to sexual assault in Gloucestershire, south-west England. 

The charges announced this week follow an investigation launched by Scotland Yard back in 2017.

The 62-year-old Oscar-winning American actor, behind famous films such as ‘Usual Suspects’ and ‘American Beauty’ and the Netflix political drama ‘House of Cards’, has also served as artistic director of London’s Old Vic theatre from 2004 to 2015.

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Actor Anthony Rapp, in an interview with Buzzfeed News, accused Spacey of making a sexual advance towards him when he was 14. 

Spacey said that he had no memory of the alleged incident. He apologised to Rapp, who is now 46, calling the sexual advance ‘inappropriate drunken behaviour’. The actor then announced that he “choose[s] now to live as a gay man”. 

American filmmaker Tony Montana, in an interview with Radar Online, claimed that he was forcefully groped by Spacey in 2003.

Netflix had by then announced that it has suspended production on ‘House of Cards” season six. 

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Two other men, in 2017, accused Spacey of sexual assault and exposure. 

Spacey’s publicist, Staci Wolfe, said that the actor “is taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment”. Netflix said it will “not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey”.