Judge Rules Kevin Spacey Accuser Has to Identify Himself Because He Talked About Alleged Abuse

A Manhattan judge has ruled that one of Kevin Spacey’s accusers must reveal his identity if he wants to proceed with his sexual abuse suit against the actor.

In his decision, the judge, Lewis Kaplan, wrote that he was requiring the man to publicly come forward because he had discussed the alleged incident—which occurred when he was in his teens—for decades. Currently, the man appears in court documents as “C.D.”

“The evidence suggests that C.D. knowingly and repeatedly took the risk that any of these individuals at one point or another would reveal his true identity in a manner that would bring that identity to wide public attention, particularly given Spacey’s celebrity,” Kaplan wrote in the court document, according to the Associated Press. (A ridiculous argument, I think, since aside from its use in processing trauma, telling people what happened to you is a way to ensure you’ll later be believed.)

C.D. is one of at least 15 men who accused Spacey of sexual misconduct in 2017, when he spoke anonymously about how he met the actor in 1981, when he was 12 and Spacey was 22, and how two years later they began a sexual relationship. Vulture was able to fact check his story—which he shared with the outlet in an interview at the time—partly by speaking to people close to C.D., who confirmed his account.

“I have worked really hard to have a nice life and feel safe, and I’m not giving that up for him,” he told Vulture, explaining his decision to remain anonymous in the press. “I don’t want them to be able to find their way back to me.”

In a March letter to Kaplan, C.D.’s lawyers made a similar appeal, arguing that revealing his identity would cause him “extreme anxiety and psychological distress at even the thought of being required to proceed publicly.” If he had to, the lawyers said, he would drop his claims against Spacey. If C.D. does end up dropping the suit, he’ll be the second Spacey accuser to do so.