Gary Busey charged with sex offenses at Monster-Mania Con in Cherry Hill, police say
CHEERY HILL, N.J. (AP/CBS) – Actor Gary Busey has been charged with sexual offenses at a New Jersey fan convention this month.
Busey, 78, was charged Friday with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, one count of attempted criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment, Cherry Hill police said Saturday.
The charges stem from offenses at the annual Monster Mania Convention at the Doubletree Hotel on Aug. 12-14 in Cherry Hill, a Philadelphia suburb, police said.
Busey, who lives in Malibu, California, was scheduled as a featured guest for all three days of the event. CBS3 has learned he was removed not long after multiple attendees contacted the police.
CBS3 reached out to Cherry Hill Police for more information, but so far our calls have not been returned.
It also wasn't clear whether Busey has an attorney to comment on the charges, and a representative didn't immediately return a message seeking comment Saturday.
Busey is widely known as a character actor, largely in supporting roles, though he came to attention and was nominated for an Oscar for best actor for playing the title role in the 1978 film "The Buddy Holly Story."
"He was one of the few people I was pretty excited to meet," Ian Irza said.
Irza traveled from Maine to South Jersey for the three-day convention.
Busey posed for a picture with the young fan during a meet-and-greet, gave him an autograph and Irza said his experience was very pleasant.
"I gave him my 'Silver Bullet' blu-ray to sign," he said.
The law firm representing the horror film convention tells CBS3 Monster Mania is assisting police in the investigation.
In a statement, the firm said:
"Our client, Monster-Mania LLC, is assisting authorities in their investigation into 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."
Irza reacted to the news on Saturday.
"I'd just be disappointed if that was true, because for me, like I said, my experience was pretty good, so that's basically what I'm going to remember," Irza said. "But if other people had a bad experience, that's unfortunate for them."
Police said anyone with additional information is urged to contact Detective Robert Daniello of the Cherry Hill Police Department at (856) 432-8834.
Tips can also be submitted anonymously by emailing tips@cherryhillpolice.com or clicking here.
