Barbara Howard: Actor Kevin Spacey, facing new allegations of sexual assault. Yesterday, former Boston TV news anchor Heather Unruh accused Spacey of groping her 18-year-old son at a Nantucket restaurant in July of last year. She says her son was star struck and claims that Spacey plied him with drinks before assaulting him. It is the latest in a flood of sexual harassment and assault allegations that have come to light against people in the public eye, including Spacey. Boston lawyer Mitchell Garabedian is representing Unruh’s son. Garabedian is perhaps best known for representing victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests. He's with us now on the line. Thank you for joining us, Mr. Garabedian.
Mitchell Garabedian: Thank you for having me.
Howard: Well there was talk of evidence given over to the Nantucket Police last week backing up Unruh’s allegations against Spacey. What is this evidence?
Garabedian: Well, unfortunately, I can't tell you because there is a pending criminal investigation.
Howard: It has been nearly a year and a half. The evidence was handed over to the Nantucket Police just last week. Why the wait?
Garabedian: It's not uncommon in sexual abuse cases for victims to come forward when they're able to come forward, when they have the power to come forward, the strength and courage to come forward. I have had victims wait in excess of 50 years before they come forward to report being sexually abused. So it's a matter of timing, it’s a matter of emotions, and it's a matter of strength.
Howard: But when it's this much of a gap, though, does it make it more difficult for your client's case?
Garabedian: I don't know at this point in time. A year isn't a whole lot of time, given the decades that can go by. Victims often wait 10, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, before they come forward. So I don't really think that one year is going to matter.
Howard: This is well within the statute of limitations, right?
Garabedian: Yes, civilly, it's well within the statute of limitations, and in my understanding in a criminal law, it’s well within the statute of limitations.
Howard: What charges could Spacey face and what possible sentencing, if he is found guilty?
Garabedian: Well you'd really have to speak to the district attorney with regard to what crimes he'd be charged with, if any.
Howard: According to what Unruh said to the press yesterday, she says that her son says that when Spacey got up to go to the restroom, a woman at that Nantucket restaurant stepped in and encouraged Unruh’s son to run away, which he did, all the way to his grandmother's house. Now, Unruh has publicly thanked that woman and called for her to step forward. Have you figured out who that woman was?
Garabedian: We haven't figured out who that woman was. We're looking for her. And we'd like — and Ms. Unruh would like to thank her personally.
Howard: What could this woman do in terms of helping you help your client?
Garabedian: First of all, it would be important to Ms. Unruh to thank this woman for being so protective of her son. This woman showed a lot of courage herself by stepping in and telling her son to run.
Howard: How could the woman be helpful, though, to you as the attorney, in helping her son?
Garabedian: Well, that's common sense in the sense of "What did you see? When did you see it? How did you see it? Where did you see it? What did you do?"
Howard: What prompted Unruh to go to the media with her son's allegations?
Garabedian: Ms. Unruh wants to encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward to help with transparency, to help with the healing process. Each and every victim has to go through his or her own healing process and, unfortunately, victims usually don't heal fully, but they usually are able to cope with being harmed when sexually abused. It's a process of closure, a process of healing, a process transparency.
Howard: What are the next steps at this point? You said that you plan on contacting Spacey.
Garabedian: At this point in time, I'm conducting my own investigation — determining what witnesses exist, what they know about the situation, when they knew it, what they did. Very important. Apparently, there are a lot of individuals associated with this alleged sexual abuse. We want to know what they knew. I am also informed that Mr. Spacey also had an individual with him. We want to find out the identity and find out what he knew.
Howard: That evening, you’re saying.
Garabedian: Yes, that evening.
Howard: Well thanks for joining us, Mr. Garabedian.
Garabedian: Thank you.
Howard: That's attorney Mitchell Garabedian, he’s representing former Boston TV news anchor Heather Unruh's son. Unruh claims that actor Kevin Spacey groped her then-18-year-old son a year ago in July at a restaurant on Nantucket.
