Kevin Spacey accuser cannot retain anonymity in £28m sexual assault lawsuit, judge rules

Accuser known as ‘CD’ has been given 10 days to reveal his identity for suit to continue

Spacey in 2017 (AFP via Getty Images)

A $40m (£28.8m) sexual assault lawsuit against Kevin Spacey will not go ahead unless his accuser reveals his identity, a judge ruled.

The man, known publicly as “CD”, has accused the House of Cards star of abusing him in the 1980s when he was 14 years old, after meeting him at his New York acting class.

On Monday (3 May), US district judge Lewis A Kaplan ruled that CD, who is seeking more than $40m in damages from Spacey, cannot proceed anonymously in the court.

Kaplan said that CD’s privacy did not outweigh the presumption of open judicial proceedings and the prejudice to Spacey’s defence that would occur if he could proceed anonymously.

Claims by CD’s lawyers that using their client’s name would trigger post traumatic stress disorder were a hard-to-prevent consequence of the case proceeding, the judge added.

He also said that CD’s anonymity could prevent individuals with information that might support Spacey from knowing to come forward.

CD’s lawyers have been given 10 days to reveal his name for the lawsuit to continue.

CD was among the first figures to speak out with allegations of sexual assault against Spacey in 2017, describing in an article by Vulture how the pair allegedly first met when he was 12 and later began a sexual relationship when he was 14.

Kaplan stated that CD was the anonymous subject of the Vulture article and that he had spoken to a number of people about his claims since the 1990s.

The judge said that “the evidence suggests that CD knowingly and repeatedly took the risk that any of these individuals at one point or another would reveal his true identity in a manner that would bring that identity to wide public attention”.

Spacey has denied all allegations of abuse.

You can find more information and advice for people affected by sexual assault and abuse at Rape Crisis or you can call the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247.