190603 Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Image Credit: AP

A Massachusetts judge says a phone used by a young man who says Kevin Spacey groped him at a bar must be turned over to the defence.

The actor’s lawyer told the judge at a hearing on Monday that they need the accuser’s phone so an expert can try to recover text messages his lawyer says support Spacey’s claims of innocence.

Nantucket District Judge Thomas Barrett said on Friday that the phone must be turned over by June 21.

Spacey is accused of groping the then-18-year-old man in a crowded bar on the resort island in 2016.

Spacey’s lawyers say the man deleted text messages that could help the actor’s defence.

Spacey attended Monday’s hearing but didn’t speak or respond to questions from reporters.