No prison sentence for Cuba Gooding Jr. in violent contact case CBC News

WARNING: This article contains details of sexual misconduct.

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. settled his violent contact case in New York City on Thursday with a guilty plea to a lesser charge and no jail time after meeting the terms of a conditional settlement reached in April.

Prosecutor Coleen Balbert said Gooding stayed out of trouble and underwent alcohol and behavior modification counseling for six months, which allowed him to retract his misdemeanor and plead guilty to a harassment violation.

Balbert said she has had “positive reports for the past six months” from Gooding’s therapist. The actor is continuing treatment beyond the time required by his plea agreement, Balbert said.

Gooding, 54, faces no additional penalties and by replacing his misdemeanor plea with a noncriminal violation plea, he will have no criminal record. If Gooding had failed to honor the terms of the deal, he could have faced up to a year in prison.

Dozens of allegations of inappropriate behavior

Gooding pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in April for forcibly kissing a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018. That was just one of dozens of allegations of inappropriate behavior by the Oscar winner that have come to light in recent years.

Some of Gooding’s prosecutors criticized what they saw as a light sentence for him Jerry Maguire star and some are pursuing civil lawsuits against him.

Gooding “saw minimal impact” while his victims dealt with the aftermath of his actions, the nightclub employee said in a victim impact statement read by Balbert in the court file.

Abundance of Hollywood misconduct allegations

Arrested in 2019, Gooding was among a plethora of Hollywood heavyweights accused of misconduct in the #MeToo movement.

As Gooding was in court Thursday to finalize his case, another Oscar winner, Kevin Spacey, was on trial in a civil suit alleging he sexually assaulted actor Anthony Rapp.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, former studio boss Harvey Weinstein and That 70’s show Star Danny Masterson finds himself in the middle of separate rape trials. Weinstein was convicted of similar charges in New York in 2020 and is serving a 23-year sentence.

Gooding’s case has lasted more than three years, prolonged by court delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I kissed a waitress, Your Honor”

Gooding was arrested in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police he petted her without her consent at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square. This incident was not the one in his guilty plea.

A few months later, prosecutors charged Gooding with pinching a waitress’ buttocks after he made a sexually suggestive remark to her at TAO Downtown, and the charge to which he pleaded guilty — a waitress at LAVO New York in Midtown Forcibly kissing Manhattan.

Both incidents are believed to have happened in 2018.

Gooding admitted at an April hearing that he “kissed the waitress on the lips without consent,” and when explaining his actions during Thursday’s harassment pleading, Judge Curtis Farber said, “I kissed a waitress, Your Honor.”

The waitress said in her victim statement that Gooding unexpectedly forced his tongue into her mouth while serving drinks. She said she was aware of incidents involving Gooding and three other women at the club.

Gooding had previously pleaded not guilty to six counts of misconduct and denied all allegations of wrongdoing. His lawyers argued that in the fervor of #MeToo, overzealous prosecutors were trying to turn “everyday gestures” or misunderstandings into crimes.

Judge Curtis Farber previously ruled that if Gooding’s case went to trial, prosecutors could have called two other women to testify about their claims that Gooding had hurt them as well. Prosecutors say the judge later reversed that decision – prompting them to seek a plea deal.

In addition to the criminal case, Gooding faces charges of raping a woman in New York City in 2013. After a judge issued a default judgment in July for Gooding’s failure to respond to the lawsuit, the actor hired an attorney and is fighting the allegations.

There is support for anyone who has been sexually abused. Here you can access hotlines and local support services Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you are in imminent danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.