No jail time for actor Cuba Gooding Jr in forcible touching case

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. resolved his New York City forcible touching case Thursday with a guilty plea to a lesser charge and no jail time after complying with the terms of a conditional plea agreement reached in April.

Prosecutor Coleen Balbert said Gooding has stayed out of trouble and completed six months of alcohol and behaviour modification counselling, allowing him to withdraw his misdemeanour plea and plead guilty to a harassment violation.

Balbert said she has received “positive reports for the last six months” from Gooding's therapist.

The actor is continuing with treatment beyond the time required by his plea agreement, Balbert said.

Gooding, 54, faces no additional penalties and, by replacing his misdemeanour plea with a plea to a noncriminal violation, he will not have a criminal record.

If Gooding had failed to comply with the terms of the deal, he would have faced up to one year in jail.

Gooding pleaded guilty in April to a misdemeanour charge that he forcibly kissed a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018. That was just one of dozens of allegations of inappropriate behaviour by the Oscar winner that came to light in recent years.

Some of Gooding's accusers criticised what they regarded as a light punishment for the “Jerry Maguire” star and some are pressing ahead with civil litigation against him.

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