Kevin Spacey’s appearance in Nantucket District Court was brief and the actor entered a no guilty plea on a charge of felony indecent assault and battery. Judge Thomas Barrett ordered Spacey to stay away from the young man who has accused him of groping him at a Nantucket bar in 2016 and set a pre-trial hearing for March 4. Judge Barrett, who denied a motion by Spacey’s attorney to not be present in thte courtroom today, said the actor does not have to appear at the pre-trial hearing but said he needs to be available by phone.
The judge also granted a request by Spacey’s attorney to preserve the victim’s cellphone data for the six month period after the alleged assault.
Today’s hearing comes more than a year after a former Boston television news anchor accused the actor of getting her then 18-year old son drunk and sexually assault him at the bar of the Club Car, where the youngster was working as a busboy.