August 01, 2025
JC Olivera/SIPA USA
Actor Gary Busey, 81, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of criminal sexual contact stemming from his appearance at the Monster-Mania Convention in Cherry Hill in August 2022. Multiple women accused Busey of groping them during the event at the DoubleTree Hotel on Route 70.
Gary Busey pleaded guilty to a charge of groping a woman's buttocks during a meet-and-greet with the actor at the Monster-Mania Convention in Cherry Hill in August 2022.
The 81-year-old "Lethal Weapon" star had long denied a slew of allegations stemming from his appearance at the annual film convention that was held at the DoubleTree Hotel on Route 70. Busey, who lives in Malibu, California, was permitted to submit his plea Thursday during a video conference hearing before Judge Gwendolyn Blue in Camden's Superior Court. He faces one to five years of probation and must pay fines.
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"He's glad to put it behind him," Blair Zwillman, Busey's attorney, said Friday. "The judge was kind enough to handle the matter remotely."
During the hearing, Busey admitted that it was "not a case of accidental touching" when he "inappropriately" groped the woman over her clothing.
In the days after the incident, five women came forward with accusations that Busey had groped them at the convention. One woman told police Busey placed his head near her breasts and attempted to unlatch her bra strap while she was taking a photo with him. Another woman told authorities Busey grabbed her buttocks as the two posed for a photo. Busey was removed from the hotel after the women complained, Cherry Hill police said.
The day after the convention, authorities were contacted by the father of a third woman who said Busey also grabbed his daughter's buttocks during a photo shoot. In charging documents, Cherry Hill police alleged Busey had asked detectives to apologize to the women on his behalf and convince them not to press charges.
The indictment also alleged Busey touched a fourth woman's buttocks and placed his hand on another woman's clothing over her genitals during the same event.
Busey was charged with four counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and one count of fourth-degree attempted criminal sexual contact. All but one of the charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Zwillman said Busey's sentencing will be in September.
"We're allowed to argue for no probation and fines only," he said.
Busey also faces a civil lawsuit from two of the women who accused him of groping them. Zwillman said he is not representing Busey in that case.
Busey is best-known for his role in 1978's "The Buddy Holly Story," a biographical film that earned him an Oscar nomination for playing the 1950s rock star who was tragically killed in a plane crash. Busey was once arrested in California for alleged spousal abuse of his ex-wife in 2001 and also faced allegations of groping a woman and forcibly placing her hand on his crotch while working on the set of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" in 2011. The New Jersey case marks the first time he has been convicted of a crime.
