Kevin Spacey is a "sexual bully" who assaults men and does not respect personal boundaries or space, a British prosecutor said on Friday at the start of the US Oscar-winning actor's trial on sex offense charges.
Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen allegations of historic sex offenses committed against four men which are said to have taken place between 2001 and 2013.
Opening the prosecution case at London's Southwark Crown Court, lawyer Christine Agnew told the jury Spacey was an extremely famous actor who had won a number of awards.
"He is also, the prosecution alleges, a man who sexually assaults other men," she said.
"A man who does not respect personal boundaries or space, a man who it would seem delights in making others feel powerless and uncomfortable – a sexual bully. His preferred method of assault is it appears to grab aggressively other men in the crotch."
Spacey, who is being tried under his full name Kevin Spacey Fowler, watched from the dock, wearing a grey suit, a gold-colored tie and glasses.
The charges against him include repeated incidents of indecent and sexual assaults
He is also accused of a more serious offense of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent, which carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
The trial is due to last about four weeks.
Spacey, who won Oscars for best actor in "American Beauty" (1999) and best supporting actor in "The Usual Suspects" (1995), spent more than a decade working in London as artistic director for the British capital's Old Vic theater from 2004 to 2015.
Once one of Hollywood's biggest stars, he has largely disappeared from public view since being accused of sexual misconduct six years ago.
"It is only right that you might feel a little star-struck or overwhelmed that you are part of the jury to try such a famous person but ... you must keep yourself grounded and true to the oath that you have taken," Agnew told jurors.