The actor Gary Busey faces charges of criminal sexual contact and harassment related to incidents that occurred at a horror film fan convention in Latest Jersey, the police said on Saturday.
The fees were filed on Friday after the authorities responded to reports of a sexual offense on the convention, Monster-Mania Con, the Cherry Hill Police Department said in a press release.
Mr. Busey, 78, who lives in Malibu, Calif., was scheduled to be a featured guest on the event, which took place from Aug. 12-14 on the Doubletree Hotel in Cherry Hill, a Philadelphia suburb.
Mr. Busey was charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, one count of fourth-degree attempted criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment. The police said the investigation was continuing. Additional details in regards to the charges weren’t immediately available.
The police didn’t immediately reply to calls and emails on Saturday, and the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office referred inquiries to the police. Mr. Busey’s manager didn’t reply to emails, and a representative for the hotel couldn’t immediately be reached.
A lawyer for the convention, Nikitas Moustakas, said the convention company was “assisting authorities of their investigation into an alleged incident involving attendees and a star guest at its convention” in Cherry Hill last weekend.
“Immediately upon receiving a criticism from the attendees, the celebrity guest was faraway from the convention and instructed to not return,” he said. “Monster-Mania also encouraged the attendees to contact the police to file a report. The security and well-being of all our attendees is of the utmost importance to Monster-Mania, and the corporate is not going to tolerate any behavior that might compromise those values.”
Mr. Busey, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role within the 1978 film “The Buddy Holly Story,” has struggled with substance abuse prior to now, even appearing in “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.”
In 1988, he was badly hurt after losing control of his motorcycle near downtown Los Angeles while riding without wearing a helmet. He sustained severe head injuries and underwent intensive surgery.
Mr. Busey has appeared in quite a few movies, including “Lethal Weapon,” (1987) and “Under Siege” (1992), in addition to the tv series “Entourage.” In 2019, he starred in “Only Human,” an Off Broadway musical wherein he played the role of God.
