Actor Gary Busey was charged with sex crimes as a result of incidents that took place at the Monster Mania convention in New Jersey, police said Saturday.
Busey, 78, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact, one count of attempted criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment, according to Cherry Hill police.
Officers were called to the Doubletree Hotel, where the convention was being held August 12-14 “for the reporting of a sexual offense,” a Facebook statement is reading.
As a result of the investigation, Busey was charged Friday. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer to comment on the allegations, and NBC News was unable to immediately reach his representatives.
The Monster Mania Convention is an event celebrating horror movies and memorabilia. He was scheduled to be a featured guest for all three days of the event, the Associated Press reported.
Monster-Mania said in a message that it helped authorities investigate the allegations.
“Immediately after receiving a complaint from those in attendance, the famous guest was removed from the convention and instructed not to return,” the post said. “Monster-Mania also encouraged those in attendance to contact the police to file a report.”
Busey’s acting career blossomed in the 1970s (“The Buddy Holly Story,” which earned him an Academy Award nomination, “Big Wednesday”) and 1980s (“Lethal Weapon,” “48 Hours”). His performances in the 90s (“Point Break”, “Under Siege”) proved that he had perseverance.
he persisted severe skull damage in a motorcycle accident in 1988, but recovered.
In 2012, Busey applied for bankruptcy protection. Court documents cited as a possible liability money he may owe to a woman who claimed he assaulted her at a Tulsa airport the year before.
In a 2018 NBC News THINK piece, the actor said a future manager introduced him to cocaine in the 1970s, which helped him on a drug addiction journey.
Busey seems to have maintained self-consciousness about his struggles with substance abuse. He sang his own voice on the TV show ‘American Dad’ the appearance of his characterwho portrayed the actor as an alcoholic. After an overdose in 1995, Busey stopped using the drug and was sober from cocaine for 25 years, he said in the interview.
Dennis Romero contributed.