Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to forcibly touching a woman at a New York nightclub in 2018.
The guilty plea came nearly three years after the Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star was arrested in the case that saw several delays as his lawyers sought to get charges reduced or dismissed.
Gooding, 54, accused of violating three different women at various Manhattan night spots in 2018 and 2019, pleaded guilty to just one of the allegations. He told the judge he “kissed the waitress on her lips” without consent at the LAVO New York nightclub. Gooding also admitted to subjecting two other women to non-consensual physical contact in October 2018 and June 2019, according tothe district attorney’s office.
The plea came during a scheduled hearing in the case Wednesday, two years after Gooding was first charged and following multiple hearings, many of which were postponed or continued. Previous negotiations over a plea agreement had stalled under former district attorney Cyrus Vance.
USA TODAY has reached out to Gooding’s attorney for comment.
Gooding’s plea deal calls for no jail time. If he continues counseling for six months, he can withdraw the misdemeanor plea and plead guilty to a lesser violation of harassment. If he does not comply, he faces up to one year in jail.
“We fully credit and believe all of the survivors in this case and thank all of the women and other witnesses who cooperated with our office during the pendency of our investigation,” assistant district attorney Coleen Balbert said during the court appearance.
Balbert said they were “able to reach a disposition in this matter after lengthy discussions between the defense, myself, and the complaining witnesses in this case.”
Gooding’s plea also allows all three complainants in the case to make victim impact statements, either at the time of plea or sentencing. One of the accusers will be making a statement Wednesday, according to the district attorney’s office.
Gooding was arrested in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police he squeezed her breast without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square.
A few months later, he was charged in two additional cases as more women came forward to accuse him of abuse. The new charges alleged he pinched a server’s buttocks after making a sexually suggestive remark to her at TAO Downtown and forcibly touched a woman inappropriately at the LAVO nightclub, both in 2018.
Gooding had previously pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor counts and denied all allegations of wrongdoing. His lawyers have argued that overzealous prosecutors, caught up in the fervor of the #MeToo movement, are trying to turn “commonplace gestures” or misunderstandings into crimes.
Yearslong delay:Cuba Gooding Jr. trial began earlier this year in NYC groping case
The judge had ruled that if the Gooding case went to trial, prosecutors could have called two additional women to testify about their allegations that Gooding also violated them.
Those women, whose claims did not result in criminal charges, were among 19 other accusers whom prosecutors were seeking to call as witnesses.
Along with the criminal case, Gooding is accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman in New York City in 2013. After a judge issued a default judgment in July because Gooding hadn’t responded to the lawsuit, the actor retained a lawyer and is fighting the allegations.
Cuba Gooding Jr. groping case:Actor wears ‘Black Lives Matter’ mask at court appearance
More:Cuba Gooding Jr. facing 7 more accusers, for total of 22, in his groping case
Contributing: Maria Puente, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
