Larry Neumeister, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A civil sexual assault lawsuit against actor Kevin Spacey may go to federal court in New York, a federal judge ruled on Monday.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said in a written ruling that the accusations that actor Anthony Rapp made against Spacey raises a substantial fact question as to whether Rapp sufficiently argues that Spacey acted to satisfy sexual desire during a meeting at a party in Manhattan in 1986 the year Rapp was 14.
The judge noted that Rapp argued that Spacey placed the clothed Rapp on the bed and briefly placed his clothed body partly next to Rapp’s body and partly across, before Rapp “wrapped out”, got up and left the room.
In his lawsuit, Rapp is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for what he mitigates were assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
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According to the judge, during his testimony, Rapp verified that there were no kissing, no stripping, no touching under clothes, no sexual statements or insinuations during the meeting, which lasted no more than two minutes, the judge said.
Spacey denies the allegations.
Kaplan dismissed the common law assault charge, saying the claim was not included among the lawsuits reopened by the New York State Child Victims Act, which in 2019 temporarily allowed individuals to file lawsuits in cases where the statute of limitations would normally would ban them.
The decision comes two weeks after British prosecutors said they had authorized police to charge Spacey with four counts of sexually assaulting three men. The alleged incidents took place in London between 2005 and 2013.
Peter Saguire, Rapp’s attorney, declined to comment. Spacey’s lawyer did not respond to a message asking for comment.
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