Cuba Gooding Jr. will not serve time in jail in his forcible touching case. The Oscar-winning actor plead guilty to a lesser charge in a New York City courthouse on Thursday as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
In April, Gooding admitted he kissed a waitress on the lips without her consent in 2018 at a nightclub. The Jerry Maguire star had previously pleaded not guilty. He was sentenced to counseling with the possibility of getting his conviction reduced to a lesser violation for good behavior. On Thursday, the prosecutor told the court Gooding completed six months of alcohol and behavior modification counseling and stayed out of trouble, according to the Associated Press. He was allowed to withdraw his misdemeanor plea and plead guilty to a harassment violation.
Gooding will not have a criminal record with the nonviolent harassment violation. If he failed to comply with the terms of the deal over the past six months, then he would have faced up to one year in jail. The 54-year-old actor’s accuser wasn’t satisfied with the punishment and called the plea a “betrayal,” according to a 1010 WINS reporter who was in court.
Gooding was arrested in 2019 for groping and unwanted touching. More than a dozen women came forward and accused the actor of inappropriate behavior over the years. Prosecutors hoped to present trial testimony from 19 women to establish Gooding’s pattern of predatory behavior. The judge ruled two of the women could testify, but prosecutors say the judge later reversed that decision, leading them to seek a plea deal.
Gooding was one of many famous men to be taken down during the #MeToo movement, which swept through Hollywood after the explosive accusations against Harvey Weinstein dropped in Oct. 2017. It’s been a big week in court for a handful of stars once at the top of their game.
Kevin Spacey was also in court in New York City on Thursday, just down the street from Gooding, as actor Anthony Rapp is suing the Emmy winner for $40 million. Rapp was one of the first men to come forward and accuse Spacey of sexual assault.
Over on the West Coast, Weinstein, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York for rape and sexual assault following a landmark trial, was back in court. Jury selection is underway in Los Angeles where the disgraced producer faces 11 new charges. Meanwhile in a different L.A. courtroom this week, jury selection began in actor Danny Masterson’s rape trial. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
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