Prison Sentence Likely to Be Avoided
[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Jong-min] Hollywood actor Cuba Gooding Jr. (photo), who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film 'Jerry Maguire' (1996), admitted guilt three years after being arrested on sexual assault charges.
On the 13th (local time), at a trial held at the New York State Supreme Court, when asked by the judge whether he admitted to forcibly kissing a female employee at a nightclub in Manhattan, New York in 2018, Gooding Jr. said, "I admit it. I apologize for making someone feel that they were subjected to inappropriate physical contact."
He had denied all charges and pleaded not guilty after being indicted on charges of sexually assaulting three women between 2018 and 2019. Gooding Jr. reached an agreement with the prosecution through a plea deal to avoid imprisonment and admitted to sexually assaulting one of the women among the charges. The alcohol addiction counseling he has been receiving since 2019 has been extended for six months. Failure to meet the conditions could result in a prison sentence of up to one year.
Gooding Jr. won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a talented but money-driven football player in 'Jerry Maguire,' co-starring with Tom Cruise. He also established himself as a prominent Black character actor through numerous works such as 'Boyz n the Hood' (1991), 'A Few Good Men' (1992), and 'Outbreak' (1995), but his career declined following a series of sexual assault incidents.
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