London theater says 20 men made allegations against Kevin Spacey

LONDON (Reuters) - The Old Vic theater in London said on Thursday it had received 20 separate allegations of inappropriate conduct by Kevin Spacey from 20 men who came into contact with him at the theater, or in connection with it, between 1995 and 2013.

The theater was reporting on the findings of an investigation it launched on Oct. 31.

Richard Miskella, a lawyer from the firm Lewis Silkin who conducted the investigation on behalf of the Old Vic, said that it had encouraged 14 of the men to talk to the police because of the nature of the allegations.

The Old Vic Theatre is seen in London, Britain November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner

He did not say whether any of them had done so.

Mexican actor Roberto Cavazos alleged two weeks ago that Spacey had behaved inappropriately toward him when both were working at the Old Vic. It was not clear whether Cavazos was among the 20 men identified in the Lewis Silkin investigation.

Reuters was unable to independently confirm any of the allegations.

Spacey has made no public comment about the allegation from Cavazos or about any alleged misconduct related to the Old Vic, where he was artistic director from 2004 to 2015.

His Los Angeles-based lawyer could not be reached by telephone and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Old Vic said it had asked Spacey to participate in its investigation but had received no response from him. It said it was not able to say whether the allegations were true or not.

Spacey is one of several prominent names in entertainment to face allegations of sexual misconduct following complaints by multiple women against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Spacey first became embroiled in the wider scandal when actor Anthony Rapp accused him on Oct. 29 of trying to seduce him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26.

Spacey said he did not remember the incident but apologized to Rapp, saying that if it happened it would have been “deeply inappropriate drunken behavior”.