Actor Gary Busey has come out swinging against allegations he groped a number of women at a horror movie convention, as more details surrounding the incident come to light.
Police documents obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer allege Busey groped three women at the Cherry Hill, New Jersey, convention last weekend and even allegedly attempted to unhook one woman’s bra. The 78-year-old actor, who was arrested and faces four charges, has denied any wrongdoing.
The incident occurred during a photoshoot Aug. 13 at the Monster-Mania Convention, where Busey allegedly groped two victims’ buttocks before putting his face near a third victim’s breasts, asked “where she got them,” and subsequently tried to undo her bra.
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Busey was one of a number of celebrities booked to appear at the convention and was scheduled to take photos with fans alongside actors including Ralph Macchio, Tom Skerritt, and Lance Henriksen.
Criminal affidavits obtained by The Inquirer allege Busey attempted to sway police into convincing the victims not to file a report against him. The affidavits allege that once the victims reported the allegedly inappropriate sexual contact, Busey said he had done nothing wrong before “asking detectives to apologize to the victims on his behalf and to convince them not to file any charges against him.”
Busey then said it was possible to accidentally touch people on a certain body part, according to the affidavits.
Approached by TMZ at a gas station in Malibu on Monday, Busey said there was no chance he was inappropriate toward the women and said he has eyewitnesses to back up his claims.
“Nothing happened,” he said.
“There were… a partner, and a camera lady, and me and two girls… it took less than 10 seconds, and then they left.”
Busey, who lives in Malibu, California, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree, one count of a criminal attempt of sexual contact, and another count of harassment, police said in a statement on Sunday.
Monster-Mania said in a statement Saturday that it is “assisting authorities” with the investigation and that once the complaint was received, “the celebrity guest was removed from the convention and instructed not to return.” The convention also said it encouraged the attendees to contact the police to file a report.
A day after he was charged, the actor was photographed sitting on a bench with his pants down at a public park in Malibu. Wearing the same clothes he had on during the TMZ interview, he allegedly put one hand down his pants and looked around to check no one was watching before committing a lewd act. He then smoked a cigar for about 30 minutes afterward.
