|
The second-degree harassment citation,
classified as a non-criminal violation in New York state's penal
code, akin to trespassing, will remain on Gooding's record, but
his guilty plea in April to a more serious criminal misdemeanor
of forcible touching will be expunged, a spokesperson for the
Manhattan district attorney said.
Gooding, 54, was permitted to withdraw his earlier plea after
prosecutors affirmed in court that had met the terms of April's
conditional plea deal by remaining in court-ordered alcohol and
behavior modification treatment for six months with no further
arrests.
As part of his original plea, which stemmed from forcibly
kissing a woman at a nightclub in September 2018, Gooding also
admitted to subjecting two other women to non-consensual
physical contact in October 2018 and June 2019.
The Oscar-winning actor, accused of rape in a separate civil
lawsuit filed in federal court, is one of numerous powerful men
in Hollywood publicly accused of sexual abuse since allegations
against movie producer Harvey Weinstein triggered the global #MeToo
movement in 2017. Gooding has denied the rape allegations.
One of Gooding's lawyers, Frank Rothman, told Reuters that
Gooding's harassment plea in Manhattan benefits his client by
avoiding a criminal record as well as sparing him further jail
time.
"There were three victims that resulted in six counts in an
indictment. Charges relating to two out of the three were
dismissed outright, and the third ended up in a plea to
harassment as a violation," Rothman said.
At the time original plea deal was reached in April, Assistant
District Attorney Coleen Balbert said in court that the
agreement came after "lengthy discussions between the defense,
myself and the complaining witnesses in this case."
Balbert said the plea deal would spare the accusers from having
to testify or face cross-examination at a trial.
But one of Gooding's accusers, Kelsey Harbert, expressed outrage
at the outcome of the case during an online news conference with
her lawyer, Gloria Allred.
"I've waited three years for the opportunity to speak about the
injustice of Cuba Gooding Jr. I had hoped to do so in the
context of a trial in which he would be held accountable to the
irreparable damage he did to me one summer night in 2019,"
Herbert said.
(Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Steve Gorman and
Lincoln Feast)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.]
|
|
