Washington: The man who accused American actor Kevin Spacey of groping him at a bar, may be forced to testify about his allegedly missing cell phone.
The former ‘House of Cards’ star’s defense attorneys claimed that they require the phone in order to recover text messages that they allege the accuser deleted that would bolster Spacey’s case, reported Fox News.
Last month, the accuser’s lawyer claimed that the phone was missing and that the team was trying to recover backup copies of the contents on the device.
A Massachusetts judge had ordered the accuser, as well as the accuser’s parents and his lawyer to appear in court soon if the phone wasn’t able to be recovered.
Spacey is accused of groping the then-18-year-old man at the Club Car Restaurant in July 2016. The man also accused the actor of trying to ply him into sexual acts with alcohol.
In text messages obtained by the prosecution, the accuser told his girlfriend, “Spacey grabbed my d–k like 8 times.”
Spacey has pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery.
The accuser dropped a civil lawsuit against the actor last week. The lawsuit was dropped “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be re-filed later. The man voluntarily dropped the suit, leading legal experts to speculate that a monetary settlement may have been reached.
“Money is a great motivator for an individual not to follow through,” said William Korman, defense lawyer and former Suffolk County DA’s Office prosecutor in Massachusetts.
“Maybe the prosecution said, ‘It’s either about money or it’s about a crime, but it can’t be about both, and you have to make a decision on where you want to go with this,’ ” defense attorney and former prosecutor David Yanetti noted.
“It’s clear something unusual is going on here,” Yanetti added.
This is not the only sexual assault lawsuit that has been filed against the Oscar winner. He has also been charged with indecent assault and battery. While the cases are still pending, the actor has vehemently denied the allegations.
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