Kevin Spacey’s accuser speaks publicly for the first time: Man who accused star of groping him in 2016 appears in court to explain why his cell phone is missing
- The accuser was ordered to testify in Massachusetts court on Monday
- His family’s lawyer revealed they did not have the phone he was using on the night of the alleged assault July 8, 2017, at The Club Car restaurant and bar
- Spacey’s lawyers say texts that would help the actor’s case were deleted before screenshots of conversations were sent to an investigating officer
- The accuser said he gave police what he had ‘available’ to him ‘at the time’ and did not manipulate the screenshots
- The man said he has ‘no knowledge of any deletions of messages’
- After a court recess, the accuser invoked his Fifth Amendment right to protect himself from self-incrimination
- The judge ordered his testimony be stricken from the record
- An investigator testified that when he obtained the phone from the family, the accuser’s mother said she had ‘deleted some frat boy activities’ from the phone
- Former WCVB anchor Heather Unruh publicly identified herself as the mother
The young man who claimed Kevin Spacey molested him at a Nantucket bar testified about the text messages he sent on the night of the alleged incident in Massachusetts court on Monday.
The accuser was called to the stand after his family’s lawyer, Mitchell Garabedian, revealed that they were not in possession of the phone he was using on July 8, 2017, while working at The Club Car restaurant and bar.
Garabedian said they had recovered a copy of its contents that were backed up to a computer, including data from July 2016 to December 2016.
Spacey’s lawyers say texts that would help the actor’s case were deleted before screenshots of conversations were sent to an investigating officer.
The accuser said he gave police what he had ‘available’ to him ‘at the time’ and did not manipulate the screenshots.
The man said he has ‘no knowledge of any deletions of messages’.
The young man who claimed Kevin Spacey molested him at a Nantucket bar testified about the text messages he sent on the night of the alleged incident in Massachusetts court on Monday
Spacey’s attorney Alan Jackson presented the witness with two different copies of text messages from his phone, one of which had portions not shared with police.
The accuser acknowledged the differences between the two text transcripts but maintained that he did not delete or manipulate anything.
After a court recess, Garabedian announced that his client would be invoking his Fifth Amendment right to protect themselves from self-incrimination.
The judge ordered his testimony be stricken from the record.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Gerald Donovan testified that when he obtained the phone from the family, the accuser’s mother said she had ‘deleted some frat boy activities’ from the phone.
Former WCVB anchor Heather Unruh publicly identified herself as the accuser’s mother.
The alleged victim previously claimed that he had spoken to his mother about his allegations against Spacey ‘more than five times’.
Jackson asked the man: ‘Do you think that your mother told you to alter text messages before you went to police?’
‘Had she done that, I would have acted on my own free will,’ he replied.
Donovan said he returned the phone to the accuser’s father and that he asked for a receipt at the time.
Jackson questioned why there was no documentation showing who took possession of the phone when it was returned to the family.
Spacey stands accused of groping the then 18-year-old man at the bar where he worked in 2016. Monday marked the three-year anniversary of the alleged incident.
The actor has pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery.
Unruh spoke about the incident during a news conference in 2017, saying: ‘Kevin Spacey bought [my son] drink after drink after drink – and when my son was drunk, Spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him.’
Texts that the alleged victim send to his girlfriend last night corroborate that narrative – but Spacey’s lawyers say the phone data doesn’t tell the entire story.
The family dropped a civil case against Spacey last week. Garabedian said they did so because of the ’emotional roller coaster’ his clients have been on.
Spacey was not required to appear at Monday’s hearing.
The alleged assault took place at The Club Car bar and restaurant in Nantucket (pictured), where the accuser was working during the summer of 2016