The actor Gary Busey has pleaded guilty to criminal sexual misconduct after admitting that he purposely touched a woman inappropriately at a horror film convention in New Jersey in 2022.
“It was not an accidental touching,” the 81-year-old Busey, who was once nominated for an Oscar, told a judge during a virtual court appearance on Thursday.
In exchange for Busey’s plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss three other counts of criminal sexual contact as well as one count of attempted criminal sexual contact. All of the charges stemmed from accusations that he groped five women with whom he was taking pictures while attending the Monster-Mania convention at a Double Tree Hilton hotel in the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, from 12 to 14 August 2022.
Authorities said Busey grabbed the buttocks of two of the women and then put his face near a third woman’s breasts while trying to unlatch her bra, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
CourtTV reported that Busey’s defense attorney, Blair Zwillman, had initially argued on Thursday that the indictment against her client should be dismissed because police had conducted a “faulty” investigation and failed to question certain witnesses. But Camden county, New Jersey, prosecutor Keith Carmy, contended that there was no evidence that would have been exculpatory for Busey and that substantial witness testimony had been presented to the grand jury which charged Busey.
The judge presiding over Busey’s case, Gwendolyn Blue, denied Zwillman. After Busey pleaded guilty, Blue tentatively set a virtual sentencing hearing for him on 18 September, CourtTV reported.
Busey reportedly faces one to five years of probation as well as fines, and he must submit a DNA sample to authorities.
He wore a hearing aid “as loud as it will go” during Thursday’s hearing, yet he evidently struggled to hear the proceeding.
Busey is known widely as a character actor with more than 100 film and television credits, generally in supporting roles. Among his credits are Point Break, Under Siege, Rookie of the Year, Lethal Weapon and Predator 2.
He earned an Oscar nomination for best actor for playing the title role in 1978’s The Buddy Holly Story.
The case to which Busey pleaded guilty on Thursday was not his first brush with the law. He faced drug charges in 1995 after a near deadly cocaine overdose sent him to the hospital.
Busey has also previously been arrested on charges of spousal abuse. And during the 2011 season of Celebrity Apprentice, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee of the show.
