Massachusetts prosecutors dropped the charges against former "House of Cards" actor Kevin Spacey on Wednesday after the actor allegedly groped the son of former Boston television news anchor Heather Unruh at a Nantucket bar in July 2016.
Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe stated that the dismissal was "due to the unavailability of the complaining witness."
The case began to took a turn when the alleged victim, who was 18 years old at the time of the incident, invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and refused to testify on July 8 in a pre-trial hearing after being questioned about whether or not he had deleted text messages from a phone that is a key piece of evidence.
Family attorney Mitchell Garabedian told Nantucket District Court Judge Thomas Barrett at the start of the hearing that they could not locate the phone. The accuser then stated on the witness stand that he had not altered or deleted any of the probable evidence from the phone in question in 2016.
Defense lawyer Alan Jackson further warned the accuser that tampering with the evidence is a felony. The court then took a break until the alleged victim stated to Barrett that he'd exercise his right against self-incrimination in regards to the cell phone he used the night of the purported sexual assault.
According to Jackson, if the accuser refuses to answer any of the questions, then the entire case should be dismissed.
The accuser's parents testified on the witness stand that they have no idea where the phone is.
Last Sunday, the accuser and his family met with the prosecutors once again. He had decided not to relinquish his right to appeal to the Fifth Amendment.
According to a statement issued by the prosecutors, the complaining witness was informed that if he chose to pursue and invoke his Fifth Amendment right, the case would no longer push through.
"My client and his family have shown an enormous amount of courage under difficult circumstances," Garabedian said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
"This entire case is completely compromised. He is the sole witness," Jackson said in court last week. He stated that the case needed to be dismissed and it should be done that same day.
Judge Barrett, who seemed to agree, ordered both sides back to court on July 31 in order for the prosecutors to discuss further actions.
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