Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. manages to avoid a civil rape trial and reaches a settlement in the lawsuit against him. The allegations stated that he met the woman at a Manhattan restaurant, invited her to his hotel room at the Mercer Hotel, and then allegedly raped her anally and vaginally in 2013.
The trial was scheduled to begin with jury selection in New York federal court, but a settlement was reached before it could proceed. The woman, who had proceeded anonymously, was required by the court to reveal her name at trial. Gooding maintained that the encounter was consensual and claimed that the woman had boasted about having sex with a celebrity, although this evidence was not made public.
The exact details of the settlement have not been disclosed. The lawsuit had sought $6 million in damages.
The accuser alleged that she met Gooding at a lounge, and after chatting, they went back to his hotel room. She claimed that Gooding began touching her without consent, despite her protests, eventually leading to the alleged rape.
It is worth noting that the lawsuit was filed against an individual who has faced accusations of sexual misconduct from over 30 other women. The judge allowed three women, including Kelsey Harbert, to testify about their own experiences of sudden sexual assaults or attempted assaults after encountering Gooding in various social settings.
Gooding had previously pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in a separate case, admitting to forcibly kissing a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018. By complying with counseling and staying out of trouble, he was able to withdraw his guilty plea and have the charge reduced to a non-criminal harassment violation, thereby avoiding a criminal record and further penalties.
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