New York Actor Cuba Gooding Jr pleaded guilty on Wednesday to forcibly touching a woman in a New York nightclub in 2018.
The guilty plea comes nearly three years after Oscar-winning actor Jerry Maguire was arrested in the case, which has been delayed several times as his lawyers sought to reduce or dismiss the charges..
Gooding, 54, who is accused of molesting three women at various Manhattan nightclubs in 2018 and 2019, has pleaded guilty to only one of the charges.
He told the judge that he “kissed the waitress on the lips” without her consent at the Lavaux Club in New York.
Gooding’s plea agreement states that he will not be imprisoned, but must undergo six months of treatment in order to withdraw his plea for misdemeanour and plead guilty to a stalking felony..
Gooding was arrested in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police that the actress had touched her breasts without her consent at the Magic Hour Rooftop bar near Times Square.
A few months later, Gooding was charged with two additional cases as more women decided to report him for abuse. New charges accuse him of touching a waitress, making a sexual comment in TAO Downtown and forcibly and inappropriately touching a woman at a LAVO nightclub, both in 2018..
Gooding has previously pleaded not guilty to six counts of misdemeanors and has denied all allegations of misconduct. His lawyers argued that the plaintiffs, fueled by the enthusiasm of the #MeToo movement, were trying to turn “common gestures” or confusion into crimes.
The judge had ruled that if Gooding’s case was brought to trial, prosecutors would have to call two additional women to testify about the allegations of abuse against Gooding. These women, whose complaints did not lead to criminal charges, were among 19 other defendants who sought to call witnesses.
Gooding is also accused of raping a woman in New York in 2013. A judge issued a hypothetical ruling in July because the actor failed to respond to the lawsuit. Gooding has a lawyer fighting those charges..