CHERRY HILL (CelebrityAccess) – Actor Gary Busey has been charged with multiple sexual offenses in connection with an incident at the annual Monster-Mania Convention, which took place August 12-14 at the Doubletree Hotel. The actor was a special guest for the 3-day event.
Busey, 78, best known for playing the musician Buddy Holly in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story, was charged Friday (August 19) with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, one count of attempted criminal sexual contact, and one count of harassment, according to a press release from Cherry Hill police.
Cherry Hill Township Police Lt. Robert Scheunemann said: “It was about contact. It was about touching.” Police said they had received “multiple complaints” about Busey’s conduct.
Monster-Mania’s promoter released a statement on Saturday through a Haddonfield attorney.
“Monster-Mania is assisting authorities in investigating an alleged incident involving attendees and a celebrity guest at its convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, last weekend. Immediately upon receiving a complaint from the attendees, the celebrity guest was removed from the convention and instructed not to return. Monster-Mania also encouraged the attendees to contact the police to file a report. The safety and well-being of all our attendees is of the utmost importance to Monster-Mania, and the company will not tolerate any behavior that could compromise those values. Monster-Mania will continue to assist the authorities in any and every way possible.”
A day after Busey was charged, Page Six reports that paparazzi caught Busey sitting on a bench in Point Dume Park in Malibu where the actor resides, with his pants around his knees. Busey then stood up, pulled his pants up, and later smoked a cigar. Busey also pulled his pants down in front of his housemates while appearing on the UK edition of Celebrity Big Brother.
Busey was involved in a horrific 1988 motorcycle crash that damaged his frontal lobe, making him “more impulsive and prone to anger and delusions of grandeur,” according to a 2019 Hollywood Reporter profile. Busey’s eldest son, Jake, said the crash “turned his personality up to 11.” Some have attributed his behavior over the years to the damage sustained in the crash.
Busey’s previous arrests include drug charges in 1995 after taking a near-fatal overdose of cocaine at his home in Malibu and two arrests for domestic/spousal abuse.
