Kevin Spacey asks to skip Massachusetts court appearance

FILE – In this May 24, 2017 file photo, Kevin Spacey participates in the speaker series in New York. Lawyers for Spacey are asking a judge to excuse the actor from a Jan. 7, 2019 hearing in Nantucket, Mass. The 59-year-old Oscar winner is charged with felony indecent assault and battery. Prosecutors, who allege Spacey groped an 18-year-old man in a Nantucket restaurant in 2016, asked the judge to deny the motion. Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File

BOSTON — Lawyers for Kevin Spacey are asking a judge to allow the actor to skip his arraignment on sexual assault charges in a Massachusetts courthouse next month.

The Boston Globe reports that Spacey’s attorneys have filed a motion asking to excuse his presence at a Jan. 7 hearing in Nantucket District Court. The reason wasn’t disclosed.

Prosecutors asked the judge to deny the motion. The judge did not immediately rule.

Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Michael Giardino wrote that Spacey’s appearance is required under state rules for criminal case procedure.

The 59-year-old Oscar winner is charged with felony indecent assault and battery.

Prosecutors say he groped an 18-year-old man in a Nantucket restaurant in 2016.

Spacey’s attorneys have not spoken publicly about the case but in a court hearing questioned the evidence. MKH

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