On Wednesday, November 22, Hollywood actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was sued by two women whose allegations of sexual assault against him served as the basis for a criminal prosecution that resulted in his guilty plea and no jail sentence.
As a cocktail server at the LAVO nightclub in midtown Manhattan in September 2018, Jasmine Abbay said in a case filed in a New York state court in Manhattan that the Oscar-winning actor had kissed her violently without getting her permission.
The other complainant, Kelsey Harbert, claimed that Gooding had touched her breast during a June 2019 encounter at Midtown’s Magic Hour rooftop bar.
“Gloria Allred, an attorney for the plaintiffs, stated in a statement, “Our clients were denied the justice they sought in the criminal case.” “They are now seeking justice and accountability in their civil cases.”
Under the Adult Survivors Act, a unique state statute in New York that permits women to file lawsuits against their alleged abusers even after the statute of limitations has passed, Abbay and Harbert are requesting an amount of money in damages for assault and battery.
Following the US Thanksgiving holiday, the law comes to an end.
Actors Russell Brand and Bill Cosby, former film producer Harvey Weinstein, former president Donald Trump, and hip-hop entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs were among those who were sued under the statute; nonetheless, their case settled in a single day.
Gooding won an Academy Award in 1997 for best supporting actor in “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 lawsuit.
The charge was downgraded six months later to harassment, to which Gooding pleaded guilty after complying with a plea agreement that required alcohol and behavior modification treatment and no further arrests.
Accusations by Abbay, Harbert and a third woman were the basis for a six-count indictment against Gooding, which his guilty plea resolved.
Harbert at the time expressed outrage she could not hold him accountable in court for the “irreparable damage” he caused.
Back in June, Gooding settled a civil lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, moments before trial, by a woman who accused him of a 2013 rape. Terms were not disclosed. The woman had sought $6 million.