Kevin Spacey denies assault in groping case

Nantucket (US): Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting a teenager who alleged that the Oscar-winning US actor groped him in a bar in Massachusetts in 2016.

The 'House of Cards' star, who faces five years in prison if convicted, is accused of repeatedly reaching down into the pants of a man identified as William Little, who was 18 at the time of the alleged attack at a Nantucket restaurant.

Spacey, dressed in a gray coat over a dark blazer and tie, was not asked for his plea during the brief arraignment in a crowded Nantucket courtroom, but his lawyer entered the denial on Spacey's behalf. A follow-on hearing was scheduled for March 4, but Spacey is not required to attend. The 59-year-old actor stood quietly with his hands clasped as the clerk read out the charge "that in the town of Nantucket on July 18, 2016 (the defendant) did commit indecent assault and battery on someone 14 and over."

The case marks the first time Spacey has faced sexual misconduct charges, although there are dozens of claims against him. Spacey's alleged victim was working as a bus boy for the summer in Nantucket and had remained in the bar after his shift finished to see his hero.

After meeting the actor and telling him he was 23 years old – the legal drinking age is 21 in Massachusetts – he said he started drinking first beer and then whiskey at Spacey's urging.

The actor then allegedly invited him back to his place, along with some other friends. The young man declined, suspecting the actor was trying to seduce him.

But he stayed at the bar in the hopes of getting a picture with Spacey. It was then that the actor began sexually molesting the young man, according to court filings.

The two-time Oscar winner was considered one of the finest actors of his generation. His career nosedived following allegations of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen men in the United States and Britain.