Actor Cuba Gooding Jr pleads guilty to 'forcibly touching' woman in Manhattan nightclub

Oscar-winning Jerry Macguire star Cuba Gooding Jr was arrested three years ago over allegations of sexual assault. Photo / AP

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of forcible touching in a protracted criminal case accusing the Oscar-winning "Jerry Maguire" star of violating three different women at various Manhattan night spots in 2018 and 2019.

The single guilty plea came nearly three years after Gooding's arrest in the case that saw several delays as his lawyers sought to get the charges reduced or dismissed.

It had been scheduled to go to trial at least twice, with an April 2020 trial date scuttled as coronavirus cases surged in New York and the state shut down most court matters.

Gooding, 54, was arrested in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police he squeezed her breast without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square.

A few months later, he was charged in two additional cases as more women came forward to accuse him of abuse. The new charges alleged he pinched a server's buttocks after making a sexually suggestive remark to her at TAO Downtown and forcibly touched a woman inappropriately at the LAVO New York nightclub, both in 2018.

Gooding had previously pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanour counts and denied all allegations of wrongdoing. His lawyers have argued that overzealous prosecutors, caught up in the fervour of the #MeToo movement, are trying to turn "commonplace gestures" or misunderstandings into crimes.

The judge had ruled that if the Gooding case went to trial, prosecutors could have called two additional women to testify about their allegations that Gooding also violated them. Those women, whose claims did not result in criminal charges, were among 19 other accusers whom prosecutors were seeking to call as witnesses.

Along with the criminal case, Gooding is accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman in New York City in 2013. After a judge issued a default judgment in July because Gooding hadn't responded to the lawsuit, the actor retained a lawyer and is fighting the allegations.

Sexual harm - Where to get help
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
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Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.