Judge Rules 3 Women Alleging Sexual Abuse by Cuba Gooding Jr. Can Testify in Sex Assault Trial

Judge Allows Testimony of 3 Women Accusing Cuba Gooding Jr. of Sexual Abuse in Sex Assault Trial

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge ruled on Friday that three women who have accused Cuba Gooding Jr. of sexual abuse, one of whom was upset about never having her day in court when Gooding resolved criminal charges without trial or jail, can testify in a federal civil trial next week. Their testimony will support a woman’s claim that the actor raped her in 2013. Judge Paul A. Crotty deemed the allegations relevant for the jury’s consideration in determining whether the Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star committed rape in a Manhattan hotel room after meeting the woman at a bar. In a separate order, the judge also required the plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe in the lawsuit seeking $6 million in damages, to reveal her name at trial. He stated that the claims made by the three women who will testify are similar enough to the ones at stake in the trial, as they all involve sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults involving Gooding in social settings such as festivals, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants.ADVERTISEMENT

Gooding’s lawyers, who are representing him in multiple #MeToo cases, have asserted that he engaged in consensual sex with the woman accusing him of rape. They claim that after meeting in the VIP lounge of a Greenwich Village restaurant, she accompanied him to a nearby hotel bar and agreed to go to his hotel room for him to change his clothes. As of Friday, the lawyers had not responded to an email request for comment.

The three women include Kelsey Harbert, who tearfully expressed her disappointment after Gooding pleaded guilty last year, stating that never having her day in court was “more disappointing than words can say.” Harbert reported to the police that Gooding had fondled her without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square in 2019. The Big Big News usually refrains from identifying individuals who claim to be victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, as Harbert has done. ADVERTISEMENT

The judge, however, disallowed the testimony of a fourth woman on the basis that her proposed testimony, which involved Gooding groping her breast without her consent in 2011, was too similar to Harbert’s expected testimony. The judge deemed it “needlessly cumulative” and concluded that it would increase the risk of improper bias. The trial is scheduled to commence on Tuesday.

Gooding, known for his roles in films such as “Boyz n the Hood” and “Radio,” was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor in April 2022, admitting to forcibly kissing a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018. After maintaining good behavior and completing six months of alcohol and behavioral counseling, Gooding was permitted to withdraw his guilty plea. Instead, he pleaded guilty to a non-criminal harassment violation, which eliminated his criminal record and prevented further penalties. This deal was criticized by some of the at least 30 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, with many alleging incidents of groping, unwanted kissing, and other inappropriate behavior during encounters at New York City nightspots.

Attorney Gloria Allred, representing the plaintiff, declined to comment, except to confirm that her client will proceed with the trial on Tuesday. The possibility of a settlement, which occasionally arises in civil cases on the eve of trial, appeared unlikely during a pretrial conference on Thursday. The trial attorneys were in such strong disagreement that the judge warned in his ruling on Friday that “counsel will act with the utmost courtesy and professionalism towards one another and the Court going forward.”