Spacey, 59, must appear on January 7 in a court on the Nantucket vacation island to answer a charge of sexual abuse

Kevin Spacey was accused of fondling the 18-year-old son of a TV presenter in 2016, in the first criminal case against the Oscar-winning actor since his career collapsed in a series of allegations of sexual misconduct a year ago.

Spacey, 59, must appear in a court on the vacation island of Nantucket on January 7 to answer a charge of sexual abuse, prosecutor Michael O’Keefe said in a statement Monday. He could spend up to five years in prison if convicted.

A criminal complaint was issued by a legal assistant at a hearing on Thursday, O’Keefe said.

Shortly after the charge was made public, Spacey posted a YouTube video entitled “Let Me Be Frank” (Let me be frank) with which he broke his silence for more than a year.

In a monologue uttered in the voice of Frank Underwood, his character from Netflix’s “House of Cards” that was removed after the allegations of abuse surfaced, said: “Of course, some believed everything and have been waiting with the breath to listen to me confess, they die to see me declare that everything they said is true and that I have my deserved … I certainly will not pay the price of something I did not do “.

“Very soon they will know the whole truth,” he added. The three-minute video ends with suspenseful music.

A spokeswoman for the actor did not immediately respond to messages seeking statements.

The news excretor Heather Unruh spoke in November 2017 to say that the actor put his hand in the pants to his son, who was then 18 years old, and grabbed his genitals at the Club Car Restaurant in Nantucket in July 2016 His son fled the restaurant when Spacey went to use the bathroom, Unruh said at the time.

Unruh said his son did not report the abuse immediately because he was embarrassed.

“The plaintiff has shown tremendous courage in speaking out,” said Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer for Unruh’s son, in a statement Monday. “Let the facts be presented, the relevant law be applied and a fair verdict pronounced.”

Spacey is investigated on suspicion of sexual abuse in Los Angeles for an incident that allegedly occurred in 2016. Prosecutors declined to press charges for an indictment dating back to 1992 because it had expired.

He also faces accusations of sexual misconduct during his time as artistic director of the Old Vic Theater in London.

The winner of two Oscars was among the first prominent figures to fall with the #MeToo movement, unleashed by accusations of sexual violence against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein in October 2017.

His first accuser, actor Anthony Rapp, said Spacey was mounted on a bed when Rapp was 14 and Spacey 26. Spacey said he did not remember such a meeting but apologized anyway in case the accusations were true. He also used the statement to reveal that he is gay.

Other accusers followed in Rapp’s footsteps.

Spacey was then fired from “House of Cards,” the political drama he starred in for five seasons, and his portrayal of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty was cut from a ready-made film, “All the Money in the World,” and replaced with one of the actor Christopher Plummer. Other projects in which he was involved were shelved.

The trial against Spacey represents a rare criminal case in the era of #MeToo. Weinstein is awaiting trial in New York, but many of the other cases have been too old to be brought to the courts, and some accusers have declined to cooperate with the authorities.