The American actor Kevin Spacey has been declared innocent in the trial for sexually assaulting four men, according to media such as the BBC or The Guardian. He was charged with nine counts of sexual offences.

The actor has listened to the reading of the verdict from the bench, where he has begun to cry when he heard the president of the jury say the words “not guilty”, according to the same media.

After a month of debates and deliberating for 12 hours and 26 minutes, jurors have declared the star – who turns 64 on Wednesday – not guilty of the nine charges against him. This is one of the most relevant trials of the ‘Me too’ movement.

Since the trial began, under great media expectation, at the end of June, Spacey, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, had been presented by the prosecution as a sexual harasser who used his influence to assault young men.

The actor, winner of two Oscars for his roles in ‘American beauty’ and ‘The usual suspects’, affirmed for his part that all the relationships had been consensual and affirmed that some facts were even pure invention of the whistleblowers.

Four men accused him of sexual assault between 2001 and 2013, especially from 2004, when he was director of the renowned Old Vic theater in London.

The most serious charge against the ‘House of Cards’ lead actor concerned a man who accused him of “drugging” him and having sex with him while he slept.

The first allegations against Spacey surfaced in 2017 at the start of the movement.

As a result, he was separated from ‘House of Cards’ and other projects in which he was going to participate. During their interrogations by the police, released during the trial, the four men said they had not dared to speak out earlier for fear of not being believed, when facing a very famous and influential figure.

Before the jury, the actor described himself as a “big flirt” but denied any “violent”, “aggressive” or “painful” behaviour, stating that the prosecution’s arguments were “weak”.

He declared himself “destroyed” by the accusations and spoke, visibly moved, of his “lost reputation.” British singer Elton John testified from Monaco on his behalf.

Also charged with sexual assault in the United States, Spacey was found not guilty by a New York civil court last year. And in 2019 the charges against him were dropped in another case.

Upon leaving the courts, the actor stood before the media that had come to cover the news and assured that he accepted the jury’s verdict “with humility”. “I am extremely grateful to the jury that has taken the time to consider all the evidence and facts before reaching a decision,” he said.

In addition, he has insisted that he has “a lot to process” after what happened. “This is all I have to say for the moment. Thank you very much”, she has said goodbye.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project