Hollywood actor Cuba Gooding Jr was sued on Wednesday, November 22, by two women whose sexual assault cases against him were the basis of a criminal case that ended with him pleading guilty but serving no prison time.
In a complaint filed in New York state court in Manhattan, Jasmine Abbay said the Oscar-winning actor forcibly kissed her without her consent in September 2018 while she was working as a waitress at the LAVO nightclub in downtown Manhattan. Manhattan.
The other plaintiff, Kelsey Harbert, accused Gooding of groping her breasts in June 2019 at the Magic Hour rooftop bar, also downtown.
“Our clients were deprived of the justice they sought in the criminal case,” Gloria Allred, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said in a statement. “They now seek justice and accountability in their civil cases.”
Abbay and Harbert are seeking unspecified damages for assault and battery under the Adult Survivors Act, a special New York state law that allows women to sue their alleged attackers even if statutes of limitations have expired.
The law expires after the US Thanksgiving holiday.
Others prosecuted under the law include actors Russell Brand and Bill Cosby, former film producer Harvey Weinstein, former President Donald Trump and hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, whose case was resolved after one day.
Gooding won the Oscar for best supporting actor in 1997 for “Jerry Maguire.”
He pleaded guilty in April 2022 to a misdemeanor charge of forcibly touching Abbay, who was not identified by name at the time but revealed her identity in her filing.
The charge was downgraded six months later to harassment, to which Gooding pleaded guilty after fulfilling a plea agreement that called for alcohol and behavior modification treatment and no further prison time.
The accusations by Abbay, Harbert and a third woman formed the basis of a six-count indictment against Gooding, which was resolved by his guilty plea.
At the time, Herbert expressed outrage that she could not hold him accountable in court for the “irreparable harm” he caused.
In June, Gooding settled a civil lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, moments before trial, brought by a woman who accused him of rape in 2013. The terms were not disclosed. The woman had sought $6 million.
Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com