Cuba Gooding Jr. pleads guilty to forced contact

(CNN) – Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of forcibly touching a woman at a New York City nightclub in 2018.

Gooding admitted to kissing the woman, a nightclub waitress, on the lips without her consent. He also acknowledged two other incidents of non-harmonic communication in October 2018 and June 2019.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Gooding will continue treatment with alcohol and behavior modification for six months and has no new arrests. After that time, you can plead guilty to the harassment again and possibly seal your case.

If he successfully follows the terms and pleads guilty again to the lesser charge, Gooding could face a time sentence. If you do not comply with the terms, you could face up to a year in prison.

“Cuba Gooding Jr. has entered today a new plea that within six months his case will be resolved in violation, which is not a crime, and will not result in a criminal record,” Gooding’s attorney, Peter Tombikis, said in a statement. CNN.

The case against Gooding, which is experiencing delays, began in June 2019 when the actor was accused of forcibly touching him.

An additional charge was brought against him in October 2019.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Gooding’s lawyers at one point filed a motion to dismiss the case, but it was denied.

Gooding’s trial was scheduled to begin in April 2020, but has been postponed due to the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In August 2020, Manhattan prosecutors said that at least 30 women He had made accusations of unwanted touching of the Oscar-winning actor.

Assistant District Attorney Colin Balbert said in court on Wednesday that Gooding has been in treatment since September 2019 to address the conduct he engaged in and ensure he does not abuse again.