Cuba Gooding Jr. avoids civil rape trial and SETTLES lawsuit brought by woman who claims she was raped twice by the Jerry Maguire star at NYC hotel a decade ago
- The civil rape trial against Cuba Gooding Jr. was to begin in New York City this week
- Shortly before jury selection was to start, it was announced that Gooding had come to a settlement with the woman who claims he raped her
- Last year, Gooding came to a plea deal with a different woman who says that the actor groped and fondled her
Cuba Gooding Jr. has avoided a civil rape trial due to start today after reaching a last-minute legal settlement with the woman who claimed the Oscar-winner assaulted her in a New York City hotel a decade ago, according to court records.
The Jerry Maguire star faced allegations that he met the woman at a restaurant in Manhattan, persuaded her to join him at a hotel and stop at his room so he could change clothing. She said in her lawsuit Gooding then raped her twice.
The trial was to start Tuesday with jury selection in New York federal court. The woman had proceeded anonymously until last week, when Judge Paul A. Crotty ruled that she would have to reveal her name at trial.
The actor had insisted through lawyers that his encounter with the woman was consensual after the two met at a nearby restaurant – and that she bragged to others afterwards that she had sex with a celebrity.
Cuba Gooding Jr. pictured in court in January 2020
The lawsuit sought $6 million in damages. Attorney Gloria Allred, one of several representing the woman, declined comment.
The lawsuit was filed against a man who authorities say has been accused of committing sexual misconduct against more than 30 other women, including groping, unwanted kissing and other inappropriate behavior.
Late last week, the judge seemed to strengthen the woman’s hand at trial and in settlement negotiations by ruling that he would let three women testify that they also were subjected to sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults after meeting Gooding in social settings such as festivals, bars, nightclubs 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 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 spared him from jail or a criminal history that never getting her day in court was ‘more disappointing than words can say.’
Gooding, a star in films including Boyz n the Hood and Radio, was permitted to plead guilty in April 2022 to a misdemeanor, admitting that he forcibly kissed a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018.
By staying out of trouble and completing six months of alcohol and behavioral counseling, Gooding was permitted to withdraw his guilty plea and plead guilty to a non-criminal harassment violation, eliminating his criminal record and preventing further penalties.
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