On Wednesday, the Jerry Maguire Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of forcibly touching a woman at a New York City nightclub in 2018. He agreed to the plea with prosecutors in order to avoid jail time following his arrest in June 2019 on misdemeanor sex abuse charges.
Suppose Gooding complies with the conditions of his agreement. In that case, he will plead guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to one count of forceful touching, and his conviction will be reduced to a violation, and his criminal record will be cleared.
“Cuba Gooding Jr. entered into a re-pleader today whereby in six months his case will be disposed of with a violation, which is not a crime, resulting in no criminal record,” Gooding’s attorney, Peter Toumbekis, said in a statement to CNN.
Gooding admitted to kissing the woman, a club waitress, on the lips without her consent. He also acknowledged two other instances of alleged nonconsensual contact between October 2018 and June 2019.
Gooding must undergo alcohol and behavior modification therapy for six months and have no future arrests under the conditions of the plea bargain. After that, he can re-plead for harassment. If he complies with the requirements and re-pleads to the lesser offense, Gooding may face a sentence of time served. If he does not abide by the terms, he may face up to one year in jail.
Today, after the news broke of the actor’s plea deal, Attorney Gloria Allred, representing a woman suing Cuba Gooding Jr. in a civil case alleging a 2013 sexual assault, said she would pursue the civil case in federal court. Read the full statement here.
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