Kevin Spacey feels "grateful" to the jury in his sexual assault trial following their verdict.

The award-winning actor was found not guilty by jurors at Southwark Crown Court in London on Wednesday (26.07.23), and Spacey subsequently admitted to feeling "humbled by the outcome".

Speaking outside the court, Spacey told assembled media: "I would like to say that I am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached their decision.

"I am humbled by the outcome today. I also want to thank the staff inside this courthouse, the security, and all of those who took care of us every single day."

The jurors returned not guilty verdicts for nine sexual offence charges relating to four men between 2001 and 2013.

Spacey, 64, has always denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prosecution Service has released a statement, insisting that prosecutors respected the jury's decision.

The statement read: "The function of the Crown Prosecution Service is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges."

Spacey was cleared of seven charges of sexual assault, one charge of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity.

During his testimony last week, he told the court: "There was a rush to judgement and before the first question was asked or answered I lost my job, I lost my reputation, I lost everything in a matter of days."