Cuba Gooding Jr. Settles Rape Accusation Lawsuit Minutes Before The Trial Was To Start – Report
Cuba Gooding Jr. has resolved a lawsuit filed against him in 2020, in which he was accused of rape that occurred seven years earlier.
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that the actor reached a settlement in the suit mere minutes before his trial was to commence in the case in which he was accused of raping a woman twice in 2013 in his New York City hotel room.
Per the AP, a calendar entry in the official court record read, “TRIAL OFF” and “Reason for cancellation (on consent): the parties have resolved the matter.”
Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled last week that the woman, who has remained anonymous, would have been required to disclose her identity during the trial, as reported by the Associated Press.
In her original lawsuit, the unidentified woman alleged that the Oscar-winning actor invited her to his hotel room, where he proceeded to undress in front of her, according to a civil lawsuit filed in August 2020, as reported by Variety at the time.
The woman claimed that Gooding Jr. blocked the door, forced her onto the bed, and engaged in two separate sexual acts.
According to Variety, she sued Gooding Jr. for an alleged “crime of violence” committed on the premise of gender and sought a jury trial. She sought compensation and punitive damages in an unspecified quantity.
Gooding Jr.’s attorney at the time, Mark Heller, denied the claims made by the anonymous accuser in a statement to PEOPLE.
“The allegations against Cuba Gooding Jr. are false and perjurious,” he said. “There was absolutely no conduct committed in a criminal nature as alleged.”
“We expect the case to be dismissed,” Heller continued at the time. “It was an alleged incident that took place over seven years ago with no criminal complaint at the time.”
This was the most recent sexual assault accusation against Gooding Jr. In June of 2019, he turned himself in to the New York Police Department after he was accused of groping a woman at a Manhattan rooftop bar.
The woman stated that Gooding Jr. was “highly intoxicated” at the time of the incident and caressed her breasts at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in Manhattan. Two additional allegations surfaced months later, one of which he pleaded guilty to in April 2022.
CNN reported in October of that year that a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney, Emily Tuttle, stated that the actor had met the terms of his plea agreement, thereby averting jail time for the misdemeanour charge.
In exchange for not being arrested, he consented to complete six months of counselling. CNN reports that he pleaded guilty to harassment at a lesser level than misdemeanour.
