Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. Pleads Guilty to Sexual Misdemeanor

American actor Cuba Gooding Jr. has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of forcibly touching a woman at a New York nightclub in 2018.

The Oscar-winning actor is accused of violating three different women at various Manhattan nightspots, but his guilty plea covers only one of the allegations.

Gooding admitted to kissing the woman, a waitress at the club, on her lips without consent. He also admitted to two other incidents of non-consensual contact in October 2018 and June 2019.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Gooding is to continue alcohol and behavior modification treatment for six months and have no new arrests. After that time, he can re-plead to harassment.

If he successfully follows the terms and re-pleads to the lesser charge, Gooding can face a sentence to time served. If he does not comply with the terms, he could face up to one year in jail.

Gooding was arrested and pleaded not guilty in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police he squeezed her breast without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge near Times Square.

A few months later, he was charged in two additional cases when more women came forward to accuse him of abuse. The new charges alleged that he pinched a waitress’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.

Gooding had previously pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor counts and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Those women, whose claims did not result in criminal charges, were among 19 other accusers whom prosecutors were seeking to call as witnesses.

Along with the criminal case, Gooding 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 hired a lawyer and is fighting the allegations.

American actor Cuba Gooding Jr. has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of forcibly touching a woman at a New York nightclub in 2018.

The Oscar-winning actor is accused of violating three different women at various Manhattan nightspots, but his guilty plea covers only one of the allegations.

Gooding admitted to kissing the woman, a waitress at the club, on her lips without consent. He also admitted to two other incidents of non-consensual contact in October 2018 and June 2019.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Gooding is to continue alcohol and behavior modification treatment for six months and have no new arrests. After that time, he can re-plead to harassment.

If he successfully follows the terms and re-pleads to the lesser charge, Gooding can face a sentence to time served. If he does not comply with the terms, he could face up to one year in jail.

Gooding was arrested and pleaded not guilty in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police he squeezed her breast without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge near Times Square.

A few months later, he was charged in two additional cases when more women came forward to accuse him of abuse. The new charges alleged that he pinched a waitress’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.

Gooding had previously pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor counts and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Those women, whose claims did not result in criminal charges, were among 19 other accusers whom prosecutors were seeking to call as witnesses.

Along with the criminal case, Gooding 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 hired a lawyer and is fighting the allegations.