Cuba Gooding Jr. avoided jail time by complying with the terms of his plea deal in his forcible touching case.
The “Jerry Maguire” actor, who had faced a criminal trial over three allegations of unwanted sexual touching, pleaded guilty to one count of forcible touching in April as part of a plea deal.
If he complied with the terms of the deal, which included alcohol and behavior counseling for six months and no arrests, he was allowed to withdraw the plea and admit to a lesser charge of harassment, which he did in court in Manhattan.
The charge relates to the allegation that Gooding Jr. kissed a woman on the lips without her consent at a nightclub in New York in 2018.
The 54-year-old was accused of non-consensual touching by more than 20 women, but he was only charged concerning three allegations.
Emily Tuttle, the Manhattan District Attorney’s spokesperson, confirmed on Thursday that the Oscar-winning actor will not serve a jail sentence as he complied with the terms in the plea agreement. He was sentenced to time served.
The harassment violation will always remain on his record, but the criminal charges will not.
“Two of the three cases were completely dismissed,” his lawyer Peter Toumbekis told People in a statement. “Gooding received a plea to violation for the third case which is not a crime and therefore, does not give rise to any criminal record. I hope and trust everyone involved can move forward.”
According to The New York Times, attorney Gloria Allred, representing one of the accusers, said outside the courthouse, “The decision of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to allow Mr. Gooding Jr. to walk away with a deal, which allows him to avoid trial and erases any criminal record, is an insult to many of the accusers.”
Allred said she and her client will consider pursuing a civil lawsuit against the actor.
