Despite fresh outrage from at least two women who have accused Cuba Gooding Jr. of sexual misconduct, the actor avoided jail time after pleading guilty to a single count of harassment on Thursday.
The shocking end to a New York criminal case came after women across the country accused the 54-year-old actor of sexual harassment and assault. In court Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Coleen Balbert said Gooding Jr. had fulfilled his April plea agreement after completing an alcohol and behavior modification counseling course.
The prosecutor added that Gooding Jr.’s therapist also provided “position reports for the last six months” and that the Jerry Maguire actor was set to continue his treatment.
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“This plea deal feels like a misstep. After three long years of trying to hold Mr. Gooding Jr. accountable for forcibly touching my breast without my consent, having my day in court taken from me is more devastating than words can convey,” Kelsey Harbert, who accused Gooding Jr. of touching her at a Manhattan bar in 2019, said in court Thursday.
Harbert’s allegations began Gooding Jr.’s criminal case, prompting another woman to come forward about being assaulted at Lavo and a third to allege the actor pinched her butt at Tao Downtown. In 2019, Gooding was charged with forcibly kissing and groping the three women.
After the charges came down, at least 19 other women came forward with similar allegations and were willing to testify in court about his previous bad acts. In court Thursday, two accusers slammed prosecutors for agreeing to the plea deal, calling the agreement a “betrayal.” Gloria Allred, the attorney representing one of the women, told reporters after the hearing that the agreement was an “unjust outcome in this case.”
In a press conference after the hearing, Harbert stressed that the plea deal “robbed her” of her chance for justice.
“Over 30 other women have come forward since I first reported what Mr. Gooding did to me,” Harbert said. “At what point are we going to take this seriously? When will we decide that this is dangerous behavior? And when is it the court's responsibility to protect the public from someone like him?”
Harbert described how for years, she had been subjected to the reality that Gooding Jr. would likely receive special treatment because of his celebrity.
“The system is supposed to be about what he did—not who he is,” she added. “Despite the harm to me, Cuba Gooding Jr. walks away from the court a free man without a record. It’s like it never happened.”
Gooding will no longer have a criminal record after being sentenced to time served and does not face any additional criminal penalties. Allred noted Thursday that Gooding does have two pending civil lawsuits against him.
