Kevin Spacey trial: Hollywood actor found not guilty of sexually assaulting four men after London court case

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting four different men following a high-profile trial in London.

The two-time Academy Award-winning actor, 64, was accused of nine sexual offences against the four men between 2001 and 2013. Spacey had denied all allegations, calling the claims a "stab in the back" and "madness".

He faced seven courts of sexual assault, one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent during the trial at Southwark Crown Court. However, after 12 hours and 26 minutes, the jury returned their verdict of acquittal for all counts.

Spacey was seen with tears in his eyes as the verdict was returned and was also seen mouthing "thank you" towards the jury twice before he and his legal team left the room.

The prosecution had accused Spacey of "aggressively" grabbing three men by the crotch. He was also accused of performing a sex act on a fourth man while he was asleep in his flat.

The actor was accused of sexually assaulting one man while he drove him to a party hosted by Sir Elton John in the early 2000s. Sir Elton had given testimony to the court via video link as a defence witness, in which he told the jury that he recalled Spacey attending the party in questions and that he believed he had arrived by private jet, stating: "He arrived in white tie, he came on a private jet and came straight to the ball.”

Spacey was also accused of grabbing another man's crotch "like a cobra" and making a "barrage of vile comments" after meeting him at a West End theatre in the mid 2000s. The third man alleged that he had rejected a sexual advance from Spacey while visiting the actor's accommodation in the Cotswolds in the early 2010s.

The fourth man, an aspiring actor, told the court of an alleged incident in the late 2000s in which he said "things went further" and he woke to Spacey performing a sex act on him.

Patrick Gibbs KC, Spacey's lawyer, had questioned the accusers throughout the trial, with all denying that they had given false accounts to the jury or that they had made the accusations to make financial gains or further their career.

Following the verdict, Spacey spoke outside the court to reporters. He said that he was "humbled by the outcome today", adding that he was "enormously grateful" to the jury for the time and care taken to examine the evidence presented to them.

It comes after a New York jury ruled that the American Beauty actor did not molest fellow actor Anthony Rapp following a civil trial in Manhattan last year.