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Kevin Spacey accuser abruptly drops lawsuit that was filed last week

Actor Kevin Spacey attends a pretrial hearing Wednesday, June 3, 2019, at district court in Nantucket, Mass. He is accused of groping the teenage son of a former Boston TV anchor in 2016 in the crowded bar at the Club Car in Nantucket. The accuser has dropped a lawsuit filed against the actor, but the actor still faces criminal charges over the incident. (Steven Senne / Associated Press)
By Nelson Oliveira New York Daily News

The man who says Kevin Spacey groped him in a Massachusetts bar in 2016 has abruptly dropped a lawsuit he had filed against the embattled actor just over a week ago.

The suit, filed June 26 in Nantucket Superior Court, accused Spacey of “touching and fondling” the young man’s genitals after buying him alcohol at the Club Car Restaurant in Nantucket in July 2016.

Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney for the accuser, told the Associated Press on Friday that the lawsuit has been voluntarily dismissed, but he offered no reason for the sudden decision.

The Oscar-winning actor still faces criminal charges over the same incident. He has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty to indecent battery and assault.

Meanwhile, the accuser has until Monday to turn over a cellphone that Spacey’s lawyer claims has evidence supporting the actor’s innocence claim. The young man, who was 18 at the time of the alleged abuse, claims he has been unable to find the phone.

He’s one of several men to accuse the former “House of Cards” star of sexual misconduct since former actor Anthony Rapp, known for his role in “Star Trek,” went public with allegations against him in 2017.

A massage therapist in Los Angeles is also suing Spacey, 59, for sexual battery. The accuser claims the actor forced him into a sexual act during a massage in October of 2016.