The American actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is said to have kissed and groped several women against their will.
Cuba Gooding Jr. in court in New York in January.
(dpa) Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. has admitted his guilt in a criminal harassment case. In return for the admission, the actor is now avoiding a possible prison sentence, as the New York Times and other American media reported on Wednesday. In a New York court, Gooding admitted to forcing a kiss on a woman at a Manhattan club in 2018, Deadline.com reported, citing court records. Accordingly, he admitted in two other cases to have groped women.
According to the court order, Gooding must comply with several conditions, such as continuing the conduct courses that have been running since 2019 for six months. Otherwise he faces a year in prison, it said.
The actor turned himself in to police in June 2019 after a woman made allegations of harassment. Gooding initially denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty in court. Scores of other women have come forward with allegations, including in California and Texas. However, most of the alleged incidents happened too long ago to be prosecuted.
Gooding won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1997 for his role in Jerry Maguire: The Game of Life.