Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr has settled a case with a woman who claimed he raped her in a New York City hotel a decade ago, according to court records.
The settlement averts a trial that was about to begin with jury selection in a New York federal court.
However, minutes after jurors were to begin assembling in a courtroom, a calendar entry in the official court record said: “TRIAL OFF.”
It added: “Reason for cancellation (on consent): the parties have resolved the matter.”
The woman had proceeded anonymously until last week, when Judge Paul Crotty ruled that she would have to reveal her name at trial.
Gooding Jr had insisted through lawyers that his encounter with the woman was consensual after the two met at a nearby restaurant.
The actor, who won an Oscar for his role in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire, faced allegations that he met the woman in Manhattan, persuaded her to join him at a hotel, and convinced her to stop at his room so he could change clothing.
The woman alleged in her lawsuit that Gooding Jr then raped her in his room.
Gooding Jr’s lawyers insisted that it was consensual sex and that she bragged afterwards to others that she had sex with a celebrity.
The lawsuit sought six million dollars (£4.8 million) in damages.
Authorities say Gooding Jr has been accused of committing sexual misconduct against more than 30 other women, including groping, unwanted kissing and other inappropriate behaviour.
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