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July 14 (UPI) -- Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty on Thursday in a British court to several charges of sexual assaulting three men on different occasions beginning nearly 20 years ago. Spacey appeared for the brief hearing at London's Central Criminal Court, entered "not guilty" pleas for each of the five charges and thanked the judge before leaving the courtroom.
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At the hearing, the judge told Spacey that his criminal trial will begin in June 2023. It is expected to last for a few weeks.
Spacey faces four charges of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
The celebrated Hollywood star, who ran the Old Vic Theatre in London for many years, will remain free on unconditional bail.
The actor has denied the accusations, and his attorney Patrick Gibbs pushed back on prosecutors' efforts to reject bail in the case last month due to the seriousness of the charges.
Gibbs noted that Spacey has been cooperative with police and has been available to authorities for interviews.
"What is he going to do if he doesn't answer charges, where is he going to hide?" Gibbs said according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Is he to be incarcerated in his flat in London, unable to work, unable to audition to work?"
Spacey is known for his roles in the Netflix hit series House of Cards and the films The Usual Suspects (1995) and American Beauty (1999), which won him Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor.
Spacey, 62, is also in the middle of a civil lawsuit filed by actor Anthony Rapp, who accused Spacey of assaulting him during the 1980s when both were working in theater in New York City. Rapp was about 15 then and Spacey was 27.
Rapp made the accusations against Spacey in 2017 during the start of the #MeToo movement.
