NEW YORK _ An April trial date has been scheduled for actor Cuba Gooding Jr. _ and a judge told the Academy Award winner that he had better be there, or else.
Gooding, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of forcible touching and third-degree sexual abuse, will face a Manhattan jury on April 21, after months of legal maneuvering over accusations that he groped three women at Manhattan bars in 2018 and 2019.
After Judge Curtis Farber agreed to accommodate the schedules of a witness and several lawyers, he turned to Gooding and warned him that he needs to be present in court, and that the trial could proceed without him.
Farber asked Gooding if he understood.
"Yes, your honor," Gooding said. "Yes, I do."
Earlier, Farber admonished Gooding's team for being late to court.
Farber also agreed to allow testimony from two other women who have accused Gooding of touching or kissing them against their will.
Prosecutors have said there were nearly 20 more women waiting in the wings to testify at his trial that the star either touched their buttocks or forcibly kissed them. Gooding hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing in connection with those accusers, officials said.
Gooding, 51, was charged with forcible touching and third-degree sexual abuse in one case. That charge came months after a groping charge was filed against the actor.
Gooding was indicted by a grand jury in connection with the two incidents, including a June episode at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar for which he was previously arrested.
The accuser in the first incident was a 29-year-old bar patron at the Times Square-area hangout who told cops Gooding squeezed her breast and pawed at her chest while visibly drunk June 9. Videotape of the alleged crime at the Magic Hour bar was obtained by investigators. Gooding's lawyers say it exonerates him because it does not actually show contact.
The woman from the bar has also filed a lawsuit against the "Jerry Maguire" star.
