Actor Cuba Gooding Jr pleads guilty after three years to forcibly touching a woman
Cuba Gooding Jr., the Oscar-winning actor who was arrested three years ago, has pleaded guilty to a charge of forcibly touching a woman. Several women had come forward to accuse him of inappropriate sexual behaviour at nightclubs and restaurants throughout 2018 and 2019.
In one case, Gooding admitted to the judge that he “kissed the waitress on the lips” without her permission. This is Gooding’s second time out of jail.
As part of the plea agreement, he will receive counselling but no jail time. If he follows the terms of the deal, he may be able to have his conviction reduced to a lesser offence, according to the report.
Prosecutors were allowed to bring two more women to testify against him despite his plea of guilty to one woman’s accusations. Prosecutors claimed 19 accusers could provide information about more alleged incidents. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, his lawyers said that overzealous prosecutors were seeking to make “commonplace gestures” or “misunderstandings” into crimes, according to the AP.
As if that weren’t enough, in 2013, Gooding was also sued civilly in New York for allegedly raping a woman. A judge entered a default judgement against Gooding in July after the company failed to reply to the lawsuit. The actor has engaged a lawyer to contest that accusation.