The Sexual Assault Charge Against Kevin Spacey Has Been Dropped

Maybe all headlines about Kevin Spacey will disappear now -- that's the only upside here. The disgraced actor received a reprieve Wednesday afternoon when prosecutors dropped a felony sexual assault charge against the former House of Cards star, reported ABC News. The decision comes months after the case against him began falling apart as Spacey's lawyers further scrutinized alleged evidence presented in pre-trial hearings.

Spacey first made headlines in 2017 when multiple men came forward with sexual assault allegations against him, including Rent actor Anthony Rapp who alleged Spacey tried to seduce when he was 14. Spacey caused further controversy when he tried to twist the allegations into a coming out moment, releasing a statement that glossed over Rapp's accusations and claimed he did not remember. As a result of the hubbub, Spacey's role in All the Money in the World was recast, and his House of Cards character was killed off.

As for this Nantucket, Massachusetts case, it began in October 2017 when a young man contacted the Cape and Islands District Attorney's office to allege that, 15 months earlier, Spacey had given him beer and whiskey in July 2016 after meeting at a bar and restaurant where the young man had worked as a busboy. He said Spacey then sexually assaulted him. At the time, the young man told investigators that he told his girlfriend and other friends on Snapchat, including sending them video of Spacey groping him, according to the criminal complaint.

The Oscar-winner appeared in a Nantucket court in January to answer to the charge. During the 15-minute arraignment, he pled not guilty to felony indecent assault and battery.

Since then, the prosecutor's case against the actor slowly began falling apart as the alleged evidence -- the texts and Snapchat video -- came under greater scrutiny. Over the course of pre-trial hearings, it became clear that the young man's mother had deleted potentially exculpatory data from her son's cell phone before turning it over to police.

Additionally, during questioning, the accuser invoked use of the Fifth Amendment, which Spacey's defense attorney say compromised the entire case.

RELATED | Kevin Spacey Pleads Not Guilty to Sexual Assault