Hollywood actor, Cuba Gooding Jr has been sued by two women whose sexual assault cases against him underlay a criminal prosecution that ended with the actor pleading guilty but serving no jail time.
Jasmine Abbay in a complaint filed in a New York state court in Manhattan said the Gooding forcibly kissed her without her consent in September 2018, while she was working as a cocktail waitress at LAVO nightclub in midtown Manhattan.
The other plaintiff, Kelsey Harbert, accused the actor of groping her breast in June 2019 at the Magic Hour rooftop bar in midtown Manhattan.
In a statement, Gloria Allred, the plaintiff’s lawyer, said: “Our clients were deprived of the justice they sought in the criminal case. They are now seeking justice and accountability in their civil cases.”
Abbay and Harbert seek unspecified damages for assault and battery under the Adult Survivors Act, a special New York state law that permits women to sue their alleged abusers even if statutes of limitations have expired.
The law expires after the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Gooding pleaded guilty in April 2022 to a misdemeanor charge of forcefully touching Abbay, who was not identified by name at the time but revealed her identity in her lawsuit.
The charge was reduced to harassment six months later, to which Gooding pleaded guilty after he complied with a plea agreement that required alcohol and behavior modification treatment and no further arrests.
Accusations by Harbert, Abbay and a third woman formed the basis for a six-count indictment against Gooding, which his guilty plea resolved.
At that time, Harbert expressed outrage she could not hold Gooding accountable in court for the “irreparable damage” he caused.
In June, Gooding settled a civil lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, moments before trial, by a woman who accused him of a 2013 rape. The terms were not disclosed but the woman sought $6 million.
