(CNN) — Cuba Gooding Jr. will not face any jail time after serving the terms of a plea deal in a forcible contact case, according to Emily Tuttle, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Gooding pleaded guilty in April to one misdemeanor charge of forcibly touching a woman at a New York nightclub in 2018. Gooding admitted to kissing the woman, a waitress at the club, on the lips without consent. He also admitted to two other incidents of non-consensual contact in October 2018 and June 2019.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Gooding was to continue alcohol and behavior modification treatment for six months and have no new arrests. Gooding pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor stalking violation that will always remain on his record, but no criminal charges will be upheld. The actor was sentenced with time served and will not serve any jail time, confirmed Tuttle.
Cuba Gooding Jr. in court this Thursday. Credit: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
CNN has contacted Gooding’s attorney, Peter Toumbekis, for comment.
When the plea deal was announced in April, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Coleen Balbert said her office believed the deal was “fair and equitable.”
“I would just like to say that we fully credit and believe all of the survivors in this case and thank all of the women and other witnesses who cooperated with our office throughout the duration of our investigation,” Balbert said at the time. She also noted that Gooding had been in counseling since September 2019, saying the plea agreement would prevent the accusers from having to testify publicly and allow them to make impact statements after sentencing.
One of Gooding’s accusers, Kelsey Herbert, spoke outside court after Thursday’s hearing, telling reporters that the actor’s actions “pull [su] sense of peace every day”.
“At what point are we going to take this seriously? When are we going to decide this is dangerous behavior? And when is it the responsibility of the court to protect the public from someone like him?” Herbert asked. “The system is supposed to be about what he did. Not about who he is.”
Gloria Allred, Harbert’s attorney, said she will discuss with Harbert whether a civil lawsuit should be filed against Gooding, but said no decision will be made Thursday.
— CNN’s Tanika Gray contributed to this report.
(CNN) — Cuba Gooding Jr. will not face any jail time after serving the terms of a plea deal in a forcible contact case, according to Emily Tuttle, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Gooding pleaded guilty in April to one misdemeanor charge of forcibly touching a woman at a New York nightclub in 2018. Gooding admitted to kissing the woman, a waitress at the club, on the lips without consent. He also admitted to two other incidents of non-consensual contact in October 2018 and June 2019.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Gooding was to continue alcohol and behavior modification treatment for six months and have no new arrests. Gooding pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor stalking violation that will always remain on his record, but no criminal charges will be upheld. The actor was sentenced with time served and will not serve any jail time, confirmed Tuttle.
Cuba Gooding Jr. in court this Thursday. Credit: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
CNN has contacted Gooding’s attorney, Peter Toumbekis, for comment.
When the plea deal was announced in April, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Coleen Balbert said her office believed the deal was “fair and equitable.”
“I would just like to say that we fully credit and believe all of the survivors in this case and thank all of the women and other witnesses who cooperated with our office throughout the duration of our investigation,” Balbert said at the time. She also noted that Gooding had been in counseling since September 2019, saying the plea agreement would prevent the accusers from having to testify publicly and allow them to make impact statements after sentencing.
One of Gooding’s accusers, Kelsey Herbert, spoke outside court after Thursday’s hearing, telling reporters that the actor’s actions “pull [su] sense of peace every day”.
“At what point are we going to take this seriously? When are we going to decide this is dangerous behavior? And when is it the responsibility of the court to protect the public from someone like him?” Herbert asked. “The system is supposed to be about what he did. Not about who he is.”
Gloria Allred, Harbert’s attorney, said she will discuss with Harbert whether a civil lawsuit should be filed against Gooding, but said no decision will be made Thursday.
— CNN’s Tanika Gray contributed to this report.
