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Nantucket courthouse prepares for Kevin Spacey media circus

NANTUCKET, Mass. — Inside a small, unassuming courtroom in the heart of Nantucket, court officials are preparing for Monday and the widespread attention expected surrounding Kevin Spacey.

The veteran actor faces criminal charges in Nantucket County, accused of groping an 18-year-old man in a restaurant in 2016.

On Monday, Spacey will be formally arraigned.

His lawyers filed a motion hoping Spacey wouldn't have to be there in person.

That order was denied.

"The proceeding can be a matter of minutes," Boston 25 Legal Analyst Peter Elikann said. "No longer than around two minutes or so."

He said he expects little legal drama next week beyond the media circus surrounding the Oscar-winning actor.

But he also said the case is very defensible and not a slam dunk for prosecutors.

"I expect them to fight this all the way. This is not one of those cases where it's on video and he better just hope for a plea and a good sentence," he said. "I see this case going the distance and it very well could wind up at trial."

And while the attention will swarm Nantucket -- and some are concerned about the pre-trial publicity -- Elikann says it will be hard for Spacey to escape it anywhere.

"Sometimes when there's too much publicity in a particular geographic area, you go to another area where they don't know you as well and that's not gonna work here," he explained. "It's not as if it's not gonna be a media circus in Nantucket but if we moved it to another part of the state, they wouldn't know Kevin Spacey. He's known everywhere."

If convicted, Spacey could face years in prison and could have to register as a sex offender.