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Cuba Gooding Jr. has had his criminal record wiped clean and avoided jail after his forcible touching case.<\/p>\n
The \u201cJerry Maguire\u201d actor, 54, had his plea downgraded on Thursday to second-degree harassment for kissing a woman against her will at a nightclub in 2018.<\/p>\n
Gooding Jr.\u2019s record was cleared as he completed six months of alcohol abuse treatment and behaviour modification therapy, which was a condition of his April plea agreement with the Manhattan District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Coleen Balbert said in court on Thursday she had received \u201cpositive reports\u201d from the actor\u2019s counsellor and revealed he was planning to extend his treatment beyond the required six months.<\/p>\n
Watch video:<\/strong><\/p>\n Gooding Jr. had faced six counts of sexual abuse and forcible touching for allegedly groping three women in separate incidents in New York in 2018 and 2019.<\/p>\n The actor was allowed to withdraw his misdemeanour plea and plead guilty to a harassment violation.<\/p>\n He will not have a criminal record with the non-violent harassment violation, but if he had failed to comply with the terms of the deal over the past six months, would have faced up to one year in jail.<\/p>\n Women gave statements at Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, outlining the trauma Cuba had allegedly caused them, with one slamming his plea deal.<\/p>\n A female who alleged Gooding Jr. groped her breast at a rooftop bar said: \u201cThis plea deal feels like a misstep. It\u2019s hard to describe the weight that comes from a situation like this. <\/p>\n \u201cYour brain wants to make sense of what happens to you. What does a bad person look like? Why was I targeted?\u201d<\/p>\n Another woman said in a statement read by the prosecutor: \u201cBefore this whole ordeal I was different, I was happier and more outgoing and when I laughed it was from deep within my soul. <\/p>\n \u201cMy laughter was genuine much like my happiness was genuine. That part of me is now gone.\u201d<\/p>\n A third woman detailed in a video statement she was \u201cappalled\u201d by her alleged encounter with the actor, saying: \u201cGooding Jr reached over and pinched my butt. <\/p>\n \u201cI was so appalled. I turned to him and said, \u2018Don\u2019t pinch my butt.\u2019 He replied and said, \u2018Aww, that is no fun\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n One woman had alleged Gooding Jr. raped her in 2013 in a hotel room but he has not been charged over the claim.<\/p>\n The actor has always denied wrongdoing, insisting any acts were consensual, but apologising for making women feel \u201cuncomfortable\u201d.<\/p>\n