American actor, Kevin Spacey exploited the ‘enormous power imbalance’ between himself and his victims to make them feel worthless, a court heard.
Oscar-winning actor, Spacey, 63, is accused of assaulting four men ‘for his own sexual gratification’ between 2001 and 2013.
Jurors have heard the House of Cards star is a ‘sexual bully’ who delighted in making his assault victims feel ‘powerless and uncomfortable’.
In her closing speech prosecutor Christine Agnew KC told jurors: ‘What we say is this is not simply a strength in numbers case.
‘What this is are four separate men who have firstly told their friends and family, then gone to the police to say what happened to them and then come to court to give their accounts… You will have to decide why each has come in individually.’
Ms. Agnew said: ‘Are they all motivated by “money, money and money” as you were rather dramatically told by this defendant? Or have they simply had enough?
‘Have they decided they are no longer prepared to be the secret-keeper for someone who treated them so badly, someone who sexually abused them, all those years ago?’
Ms. Agnew reminded jurors the ‘glare of the spotlight’ remained present throughout this case. She said: ‘It is the defendant on trial and not the complainants.
‘Consider the position they have put themselves in in coming to police and appearing in court.
‘It is, you might think, no small or trifling matter for someone to come to court.
‘Reporting this type of crime is difficult for all parties involved. The glare of the spotlight, you might think, places an additional burden upon them.
‘And it is not only them who give their evidence, but their friends and family – they are placed under the same spotlight.
‘Their shame or embarrassment in not having encouraged a loved one to speak up.’
With the alleged offences having all occurred before the MeToo movement, Ms. Agnew said: ‘It was, even up until 2013, a different time.
‘Mr Spacey Fowler was and is a powerful man. He was so famous, who would believe them?
‘You’ve heard a number of witnesses say it would have, at the time they considered it, ruined their lives.
‘You’ve heard that it might just have been a fleeting grab of the crotch.
‘It’s not. It’s a violation of their bodily autonomy, it made them feel small, it made them feel diminished, it made them feel worthless.’
Ms. Agnew went on: ‘Mr. Spacey Fowler returned to this country to face trial – you may think he had little choice.
‘The allegations were brought, he had to essentially put up or shut up.
‘I told you at the beginning not to be star-struck. I hope you would come to agree with us, coming to the court everyday becomes like going to work.
‘You are here to weigh up the evidence in this case.
‘It doesn’t matter who that person is, who steps up into the witness box, you will decide what to make of the defendant, just as you decide what to make of the complainants.’
The prosecutor said Spacey was a ‘patron of the arts’ and ‘very celebrated and lauded actor’ who was ‘kind to those he chooses to be kind to’. But she added: ‘History is littered with those who choose to be kind to some and not to others.’
Referring to Spacey’s evidence, Ms Agnew told the jury the actor was ‘essentially trying to tell you how you should do the job that you have in this courtroom.
‘You will decide whether these men jumped on a bandwagon, if such a bandwagon existed, whether that crotch grab was just a coincidence or if that is what happened.
‘It’s a hell of a coincidence that [all the complainants] talk about it in such a distinctive way.
‘I asked him (Spacey) if he felt that [crotch grabbing] was an appropriate first move. He conceded it was not.
‘How could it ever be an appropriate first move? It’s just not.’
She added: ‘Four men unknown to each other, each make a series of allegations against another.
‘And you will have to decide, ladies and gentlemen, why and how.’
Earlier, Judge Mr. Justice Wall directed the jury to ‘strike through’ four charges of indecent assault against Spacey’s first accuser for technical reasons.
It now means the Hollywood star denies five sexual offences against his first accuser.
Justice Wall told jurors: ‘You will not be asked to return verdicts on any of those counts.’
The man claims he was assaulted ‘a good dozen times’ by Spacey and alleges one incident occurred in a car on the way to one of Elton John’s £1million ‘White Tie and Tiara’ balls in the early 2000s.
Spacey now denies three counts of sexual assault and one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent against the first accuser, between 1 January 2001 and 24 June 2005.
The double Oscar winner, 63, also denies two counts of sexual assault against a second man during a dress rehearsal for a charity event on March 20, 2005.
He further denies sexual assault and causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity against an aspiring actor at his Waterloo apartment between 1 August 2008 and 31 August 2008.
Spacey denies sexually assaulting the fourth complainant at his luxury holiday home in the Cotswolds on 1 April 2013.
He is said to have assaulted four men ‘for his own sexual gratification’ between 2001 and 2013.
Jurors have heard the star is a ‘sexual bully’ who delighted in making his assault victims feel ‘powerless and uncomfortable’.
Spacey carried out offences involving grabbing, squeezing, and touching of his four victims’ genitals and buttocks over their clothing, Southwark Crown Court has heard.
He now denies nine charges in total: seven of sexual assault, one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
Spacey starred in Glengarry Glen Ross, Seven, LA Confidential and Baby Driver. He also had the lead role in the Netflix series House of Cards. The trial continues.
