Cuban actor Gooding Jr., who has been accused by more than 20 women of touching or forcibly kissing them in meetings dating back more than two decades, pleaded guilty in Manhattan on Wednesday to one count of forced touching.
The Earl, a crime, accused of forcibly kissing a woman at a nightclub in Manhattan in 2018.
Under the terms of the application, Mr Gooding must continue for another six months in alcohol treatment and behavioral changes, which he has been undergoing since 2019, and there should be no new arrests, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.
If he fulfills the conditions of the application, he can withdraw the application and plead for a lesser accusation of harassment, violation, with a sentence served, the service said. Also, the protocol of the application will not be sealed, the service said.
If Mr. Gooding does not comply with the terms of his deal, the guilty plea will remain in effect and he could face up to one year in prison.
At Wednesday’s hearing in the state’s Supreme Court, Judge Curtis Farber asked Mr Gooding if the accusation he pleaded guilty to was true.
“Yes, your honor,” said Mr. Gooding. “I kissed the waitress on the lips.”
“I apologize for ever making someone feel inappropriately touched,” Mr Gooding told the court, adding that he was a “celebrity” and did not want the people he met to “feel neglected”.
Mr Gooding is facing criminal charges on charges of unwanted sexual contact with three women at Manhattan restaurants and nightclubs in 2018 and 2019. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has asked a judge to admit 19 other women as witnesses. appeared accusing Mr. Gooding of such behavior.
“Mr. Gooding’s previous actions show that his contacts with their private parts were intentional, not accidental, and that he was not mistaken about their lack of consent,” the district attorney’s office wrote in a court file in October 2019.
The judge initially ruled that two of the additional prosecutors could testify against Mr Gooding in the trial, which would allow prosecutors to claim in court that Mr Gooding had behaved in this way for years.
But Assistant District Attorney Colleen Balbert revealed in court on Wednesday that Judge Farber later overturned the ruling, meaning that additional prosecution testimony could not be presented in the trial, something that had not previously been made public. she remarked.
Asked about such a later decision by the judge, court spokesman Lucian Chalfen said: “At a time when every criminal case is pending, there are always discussions about what may or may not be introduced.” Mr Chalfen said Judge Farber’s later decision would still allow the district attorney’s office to summon additional prosecutors to refute any defense testimony in the trial.
Mr. Gooding was originally charged in connection with a meeting on the night of June 9, 2019, during a party at the rooftop bar Magic Hour, an expensive lounge at the Moxy NYC Times Square Hotel in Manhattan. Prosecutors said Mr Gooding placed a hand on her chest without her consent and squeezed, according to a criminal complaint.
He was later charged with pinching a woman’s ass at a Manhattan nightclub in October 2018 and in a further incident at Lavo, an Italian restaurant on East 58th Street, in September 2018 – the episode he pleaded guilty to. .
In court, Mr Gooding’s lawyer, Frank Rothman, said his client was also ready to apologize to the women in the other two incidents.
One of those prosecutors – the woman in the 2019 hotel incident – went to court on Wednesday.
“I’m not going to lie,” said the woman, who identified herself as Kelsey Harbert. “I am very disappointed to be here today to discuss a plea deal.”
Ms Harbert said she wanted to talk about what had happened to her, as well as to explore some broader issues, which provoked an objection from Mr Rothman, who said he should not “make a statement about the rest part of society. “
Ms Harbert, saying she would limit her comments to her own experience, told the court she was “super excited” to see Mr Gooding and then meet him while she was out for a night with friends. But her excitement turned to horror when she felt his hand on her chest, she said.
“I was desperate,” she said. “My body was placed under the authority of someone else without my consent.”
Ms Harbert said it was “very devastating” for her that Mr Gooding would have a chance to “move forward” in six months as she experienced continuing feelings of trauma and violence as a result of her contact with him.
After Ms. Harbert completed her statement, Mr. Rothman’s lawyer spoke again, saying he had watched a video of the events at the hotel. “What she said happened here in the last 20 minutes is largely a product of her imagination,” Mr Rothman said.
After the trial, Mr Rothman said in a telephone interview: “This case should have been resolved years ago.” He said he met with new district attorney Alvin L. Bragg after taking office in January, who “took a closer look and took a deeper look at the pros and cons of the prosecution.”
“We have reached an agreement that all countries can live with,” Mr Rothman said. “It’s fair and appropriate in all circumstances.”
Mr. Gooding, a Bronx-born man, achieved his first major success by starring in the 1991 film Boyz n the Hood and winning an Oscar in 1997 for his supporting role in Jerry Maguire. He played OJ Simpson in the 2016 television series People vs. OJ Simpson: An American Crime Story.
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