Cuba Gooding Jr. Pleads Guilty To ‘Forcibly Touching’ A Woman At A New York City Nightclub
After being accused of groping three different women at three various Manhattan nightclubs in 2018 and 2019, Cuba Gooding Jr. has pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching, according to Associated Press.
BET.com previously reported the Fighting Temptations actor was heading to trial on Feb. 1st for the allegations after the case had been on Judge Curtis Farber’s calendar for almost three years.
The Boyz In The Hood actor was arrested in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police he squeezed her breast without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square.
Months later, he found himself in more trouble as he was charged in two additional cases as more women came forward to accuse him of abuse with the new charges alleging he pinched a server’s buttocks after making a sexually suggestive remark to her at TAO Downtown and forcibly touched a woman inappropriately at the LAVO nightclub, both in 2018.
The guilty plea came after several delays of Gooding’s lawyers working to get charges reduced or dismissed.
The actor told the judge he “kissed the waitress on her lips” without consent at the LAVO New York nightclub.
The Selma star’s plea deal calls for no jail time. If he continues counseling for six months, he can withdraw the misdemeanor plea and plead guilty to a lesser violation of harassment.
The judge had ruled that if the Gooding case went to trial, prosecutors could have called two additional women to testify about their allegations that Gooding also violated them. Those women, whose claims did not result in criminal charges, were among 19 other accusers whom prosecutors were seeking to call as witnesses.
In addition to the criminal case, the Jerry Maguire star is accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman in New York City in 2013. After a judge issued a default judgment in July because Gooding hadn’t responded to the lawsuit, the actor retained a lawyer and is fighting the allegations.
