Cuba Gooding Jr. Settles Rape Allegations Ahead of Trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Just as a trial was about to begin, it was revealed Tuesday that Cuba Gooding Jr. has reached a legal settlement over allegations that he raped a woman in a New York City hotel a decade ago, according to court records. The actor had insisted through his lawyers that his meeting with the woman was consensual after the two met at a nearby restaurant.

The trial was to begin with jury selection in federal court in New York, as the Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star faced allegations that he met the woman in Manhattan, persuaded her to meet him. at a hotel and convinced her to stop by her room so she could change her clothes.

The woman had been proceeding anonymously until last week, when Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled that she would have to reveal her name at trial. She said in her lawsuit that Gooding raped her in her bedroom. However, her lawyers insisted that it was consensual sex and that she later bragged to others that she had had sex with a celebrity.

The lawsuit asked for $6 million in damages. Attorney Gloria Allred, one of several representing the woman, declined to comment. The lawsuit was filed against a man who authorities say has been accused of sexual misconduct against more than 30 other women, including groping, unwanted kissing and other inappropriate acts.

Late last week, the judge appeared to strengthen the woman’s case at trial and in settlement negotiations by ruling that he would allow three women to testify that they were also subjected to sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults after meeting a Gooding in social settings such as festivals, bars, clubs and restaurants.

One of the women who had planned to testify at the trial was Kelsey Harbert, who told police Gooding fondled her without her consent at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square in 2019.

Harbert said last year after Gooding pleaded guilty in New York state court to a charge that saved him from jail or a criminal record that not being able to present his case in court was “more disappointing than words they can say”.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they give their permission, as Herbert has done.

Gooding, a star of films including “Boyz n the Hood” and “Radio,” was allowed to plead guilty in April 2022 to a misdemeanor charge, admitting he forcibly kissed a female worker. at a New York nightclub in 2018.

By staying out of trouble and completing six months of alcohol and behavioral counseling, Gooding was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and instead plead guilty to a non-criminal harassment offense, expunging his criminal record and avoiding more sanctions.