Kevin Spacey charged with sexual assault: UK plans to seek extradition

British authorities are seeking the return of Kevin Spacey to the country to face charges of sexual assault for which he is charged in the United Kingdom.

According to The Guardian, the authorities will request the official extradition of the American actor, unless the latter decides to join British soil voluntarily.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the British prosecution, announced on Thursday that it authorized criminal proceedings against Kevin Spacey, 62, on four counts of sexual assault against three men.

“He was also charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without their consent.

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According to experts quoted by the British daily, the American police could soon be sent in search of Kevin Spacey, 62, in order to place him in detention on behalf of the British authorities.

But formal extradition proceedings could take many months, the newspaper said, explaining that officials from the US Department of Justice would then have to study the documents sent by the United Kingdom before deciding whether there is “probable cause » that the offenses have been committed.

Between March 2005 and April 2013

The arrival of Kevin Spacey on British soil would not mean a ban on leaving the United Kingdom, notes The Guardian.

The American actor could thus be authorized to return to his country to work, if a British court ensures that he will return on his own to be tried.

The charges cover a period from March 2005 to April 2013. Two charges relate to acts of sexual assault in March 2005 in London on the same complainant.

Another sexual assault involves a second complainant in August 2008, also involved in engaging in penetrative sexual activity without his consent.

Finally, the star of "House of Cards" is charged with a fourth sexual assault on a third complainant in April 2013 in Gloucestershire (south-west of England).

The actor has also been the subject of investigations in the United States.

Most of the charges against him in the United States and England concern men, often young or even teenagers.

In the United States, the actor was charged with indecent assault and sexual assault in the state of Massachusetts (east coast) but the charges were dropped in July 2019. He was accused of having, in July 2016, got his hands on the penis of an 18-year-old young man employed in a bar, after having made him drink.