Boston — A young man who says Kevin Spacey groped him in a Nantucket bar in 2016 has dropped his lawsuit against the Oscar-winning actor, his lawyer said Friday.
According to the court filing, the suit was dismissed "with prejudice," which means it cannot be refiled. While there are a range of reasons why a civil suit is dropped so quickly after being filed, it could be an indicator a private settlement was reached and that the accuser may ultimately stop cooperating with prosecutors, said William Korman, a former prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney's office who is now a criminal defense lawyer specializing in sexual assault cases.
"Maybe the prosecution said it's either about money or it's about a crime, but it can't be about both and you have to make a decision on where you want to go with this," Yannetti said. Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe's office declined to comment on whether prosecutors had any role in the withdrawal of the civil suit or whether a settlement has been reached.