new York – Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to violently touching a woman at a New York nightclub in 2018.
The guilty plea comes nearly three years after the arrest of Oscar winner “Jerry Maguire” in the case, who suffered multiple delays as his attorneys tried to reduce or dismiss the charges..
Gooding, 54, who is accused of molesting three women at different Manhattan nightclubs in 2018 and 2019, has pleaded guilty to only one of the charges.
He told the judge he “kissed the waitress on the lips” without her consent at the LAVO club in New York.
Gooding’s plea agreement states that he will not be imprisoned but must undergo six months of therapy to withdraw his misdemeanor plea and plead guilty to stalking..
Gooding was arrested in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police the actor touched her breasts at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar near Times Square without her consent.
A few months later, Gooding was charged with two more counts when more women decided to report him for molestation. The new charges accused him of touching a waitress’ butt and making a sexual comment at TAO Downtown and violently and inappropriately touching a woman at LAVO nightclub, both in 2018..
Gooding previously pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor charges and denied all allegations of wrongdoing. His lawyers have argued that prosecutors, fueled by the passion of the #MeToo movement, sought to turn “general gestures” or mix-ups into crimes.
The judge had ruled that if Gooding’s case had gone to trial, prosecutors would have had to call two more women to testify about their allegations of abuse against Gooding. These women, whose complaints resulted in no criminal charges, were among 19 other accusers whom prosecutors wanted to call as witnesses.
Gooding is also accused of raping a woman in New York in 2013. A judge entered a default judgment in July because the actor failed to respond to the lawsuit. Gooding has an attorney fighting these allegations..