The Latest: Lawyer says Spacey accuser ‘leading by example’

NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — The Latest on the arraignment of actor Kevin Spacey (all times local):

9:10 a.m.

The civil attorney for the young man Kevin Spacey is accused of groping in a bar says his client is “leading by example.”

Lawyer Mitchell Garabedian (geh-ruh-BEE’-dee-un) said in a statement Monday ahead of Spacey’s arraignment that “by reporting the sexual assault, my client is a determined and encouraging voice for those victims not yet ready to report being sexually assaulted.”

Garabedian has represented hundreds of clergy sexual abuse victims.

Spacey, the Oscar-winning actor, is being arraigned on felony indecent assault and battery charges. He has said he plans to plead not guilty.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people alleging sexual assault.

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8:30 a.m.

Journalists have packed the Massachusetts courtroom where Kevin Spacey is due to appear to answer a sexual assault charge.

Media trucks lined the usually quiet street where the Nantucket courthouse sits before dawn Monday. Locals on the island, which teems with tourists in the summer but largely shuts down in winter, drove by slowly to take pictures of reporters standing in line in the cold.

When the doors opened, more than two dozen journalists filed into the courtroom hours before Spacey was scheduled to appear in late morning.

The Oscar-winning actor is accused of groping the son of a former Boston TV anchor in a crowded bar on the island. He has said he plans to plead not guilty to felony indecent assault and battery.

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1 a.m.

Kevin Spacey is set to appear in court on accusations that he groped an 18-year-old man in 2016.

The disgraced actor is scheduled to be arraigned in the Nantucket District Court on Monday on felony indecent assault and battery. He has said he will plead not guilty.

He’s accused of groping the son of a former Boston TV anchor in a crowded bar on the small Massachusetts island.

Spacey’s lawyer has sought to poke holes in the case, noting during an earlier hearing that the teen didn’t immediately report the allegations.

Spacey tried to get out of appearing at his arraignment, saying his presence would “amplify the negative publicity already generated” by the case.

It’s the first criminal case brought against Spacey after several sexual misconduct allegations crippled his career in 2017.