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Topics: Celebrity, News, US News, Police, Film and TV
Joe Harker
Topics: Celebrity, News, US News, Police, Film and TV
Gary Busey has been charged with sex crimes at horror movie convention Monster-Mania, police have confirmed.
The 78-year-old actor was charged on Friday (19 August) in relation to incidents at a fan convention held earlier this month.
Busey, who lives in Malibu, California, was booked to attend all three days of the convention.
The charges come from alleged offences at the annual horror film convention Monster-Mania, which was held at the Doubletree Hotel, Philadelphia between 12 and 14 August.
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If found guilty, he could end up spending time behind bars, with the police saying they received 'multiple complaints' about his behaviour.
Cherry Hill police department confirmed they had charged Busey with a number of crimes at the convention.
In a statement, they said: "A California man is facing sexual offence charges stemming from incidents occurring at the annual Monster-Mania Convention hosted by the Doubletree Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
"During the weekend of the event, 12-14 August 2022, Cherry Hill Police responded to the Doubletree Hotel, 2349 West Route 70, for the report of a sex offence."
"On 19 August 2022 as a result of the investigation, Cherry Hill police detectives charged Gary Busey, 78, of Malibu, California."
The actor is facing two counts of criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree, one count of attempted criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree and a further count of harassment.
Fourth degree criminal sexual contact carries a prison sentence of up to 18 months behind bars.
It is currently unclear whether the actor has legal representation to issue statements on his behalf.
Known for his roles in films like Point Break and his Oscar-nominated performance in The Buddy Holly Story, Busey may now be headed for prison depending on how the charges pan out.
The actor was previously arrested for spousal abuse in 2001 after his ex-wife called the police to say Busey had bruised her.
He also faced allegations of sexually assaulting a woman on the set of Celebrity Apprentice in 2011, with the employee telling the Daily Beast they were smoking together when "he grabbed me firmly between my legs, and ran his hand up my stomach, and grabbed my breasts".
She said of the alleged incident: "I didn’t know what to do. So I made this joke that, 'Oh, I've never been sexually harassed by a celebrity before!'.
"Then he grabbed my hand and put it [over] his penis, and said, like, 'I'm just getting started, baby'."