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Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. made the move to plead guilty in the court case where he was charged with forcibly touching a woman, avoiding jail time as a result, and leaving the victims disappointed with the judge’s ruling.
According to reports, the Jerry McGuire actor pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 13th) to one count of forcible touching. Gooding Jr. had been accused of groping a woman’s breast at a nightclub in midtown Manhattan on June 9th, 2019. The victim was one of three women who would accuse the actor of forcible sexual touching, but the actor’s plea was for a different case where he kissed a woman against her consent in a nightclub in September 2018. Gooding Jr. would admit to committing that act as well as non-consensual touching of the victim in the 2019 case and another accuser. Entering that plea, the actor avoids going to jail.
As part of the deal that the actor’s legal team struck with the court, if he complies by continuing the alcohol and behavior counseling treatment that he began in 2019 he will be allowed to recant his guilty plea and replead to a harassment violation. Doing so would wipe his criminal record clean, as reported by Deadline. The victim did express her disappointment with the outcome in court, which was another condition of the deal as other accusers had been prevented from testifying during the trial by Justice Curtis Farber. “I won’t lie. I’m very disappointed that we’re here today discussing a plea deal,” she said. “I want to talk about what happened to me. I want to talk about the aftermath of that.” She would be interrupted by Gooding Jr.’s lead counsel, Frank Rothman several times. The actor did address his victims and the court after admonishing Rothman. “I apologize for making anybody ever feel inappropriately touched, anyone,” he said. “I am a celebrity figure. I come into contact with people. I never want them to feel slighted or uncomfortable in any way.”
Gooding’s legal troubles may not be at an end, however. High-profile women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred issued a statement blasting the ruling, promising to proceed with a $6 million civil lawsuit filed in 2020 against the actor charging him with raping a woman in a hotel in 2013.
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