A jury sided with on Thursday in one of the lawsuits that derailed the film starB次元官网网址檚 career, finding he did not sexually abuse Anthony Rapp, then 14, while both were relatively unknown actors in Broadway plays in 1986.

The verdict in the civil trial came with lightning speed. Jurors at a deliberated for a little more than an hour before deciding that Rapp hadnB次元官网网址檛 proven .

When the verdict was read, Spacey dropped his head, then hugged his lawyers. He didnB次元官网网址檛 speak to reporters as he left the courthouse.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e very grateful to the jury for seeing through these false allegations,B次元官网网址� said his attorney, Jennifer Keller.

B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 next is Mr. Spacey is going to be proven that heB次元官网网址檚 innocent of anything heB次元官网网址檚 been accused of. That there was no truth to any of the allegations,B次元官网网址� she added, a reference to other sexual misconduct claims against the actor, including criminal charges in England.

During the trial, Rapp testified that Spacey had invited him to his apartment for a party, then approached him in a bedroom after the other guests left. He said the actor, then 26, picked him up and briefly laid on top of him on a bed.

Rapp testified that he wriggled away and fled as an inebriated Spacey asked if he was sure he wanted to leave.

In his sometimes-tearful testimony, Spacey it never happened, and he would never have been attracted to someone who was 14.

The lawsuit sought $40 million in damages.

Rapp and his lawyers also left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. In his closing statements to the jury Thursday, RappB次元官网网址檚 lawyer, Richard Steigman, accused Spacey of lying on the witness stand.

B次元官网网址淗e lacks credibility,B次元官网网址� Steigman said. B次元官网网址淪ometimes the simple truth is the best. The simple truth is that this happened.B次元官网网址�

Rapp, 50, and Spacey, 63, each testified over several days at the .

RappB次元官网网址檚 claims, and those of others, abruptly interrupted what had been a soaring career for the two-time Academy Award winning actor, who lost his job on the Netflix series B次元官网网址淗ouse of CardsB次元官网网址� and saw other opportunities dry up. Rapp is a regular on TVB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淪tar Trek: DiscoveryB次元官网网址� and was part of the original Broadway cast of B次元官网网址淩ent.B次元官网网址�

Spacey faced charges in Massachusetts that he groped a man at a bar B次元官网网址� allegations that were later dropped by prosecutors.

Three months ago, he pleaded not guilty in London to charges that he sexually assaulted three men between 2004 and 2015 when he was the artistic director at the Old Vic theater in London.

A judge in Los Angeles this summer approved an arbitratorB次元官网网址檚 decision to order Spacey to pay $30.9 million to the makers of B次元官网网址淗ouse of CardsB次元官网网址� for violating his contract by sexually harassing crew members.

The Associated Press does not usually name people alleging sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, as Rapp has done.

At the trial, Spacey testified that he was sure the encounter with Rapp never happened, in part because he was living in a studio apartment rather than the one bedroom that Rapp cited, and he never had a gathering beyond a housewarming party.

B次元官网网址淚 knew I wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have any sexual interest in Anthony Rapp or any child. That I knew,B次元官网网址� he told jurors.

During her closing arguments to the jury, Keller suggested reasons Rapp imagined the encounter with Spacey or made it up.

It was possible, she said, that Rapp invented it based on his experience performing in B次元官网网址淧recious Sons,B次元官网网址� a play in which actor Ed Harris picks up RappB次元官网网址檚 character and lays on top of him, mistaking him briefly for his wife before discovering it is his son.

She also suggested that Rapp later grew jealous that Spacey became a megastar while Rapp had B次元官网网址渟maller roles in small showsB次元官网网址� after his breakthrough performance in BroadwayB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淩ent.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪o here we are today and Mr. Rapp is getting more attention from this trial than he has in his entire acting life,B次元官网网址� Keller said.

During two days of testimony, Spacey expressed regret for a 2017 statement he issued when Rapp first went public, in which he said he didnB次元官网网址檛 recall the encounter, but if it happened B次元官网网址淚 owe him the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.B次元官网网址�

Dabbed his eyes with a tissue, Spacey said heB次元官网网址檇 been pressured by publicists and lawyers into issuing an empathetic statement at a time when the #MeToo movement made everyone in the industry nervous.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e learned a lesson, which is never apologize for something you didnB次元官网网址檛 do,B次元官网网址� he said.

He also cried as he said he regretted revealing publicly that he was gay the same day RappB次元官网网址檚 accusations surfaced because some interpreted his announcement as an effort to change the subject or deflect from RappB次元官网网址檚 revelations.

Spacey had testified that he spoke at the trial about deeply personal matters, telling the jury his father was a white supremacist and neo-Nazi who berated him as gay because he liked the theater.

Spacey also gave courtroom spectators a brief taste of his acting chops when he briefly imitated his Broadway costar at the time, Jack Lemon. He had testified earlier that his ability at impressions aided him in his acting career.

B次元官网网址擫arry Neumeister And Tom Hays, The Associated Press