Wopat gets probation in groping incidents
Wisconsin native also had cocaine
Wisconsin native Tom Wopat, the former star of “The Dukes of Hazzard,” the 1980s TV sitcom about good ol’ boys eluding the law, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of “annoying and accosting a person of the opposite sex” and was sentenced to one year of probation.
The plea allowed him to avoid jail time on allegations he groped two female cast members, one 16 years old, in a theater musical he was set to star in in Waltham, Massachusetts, last fall.
Wopat, 66, also admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him of the charge of possession of cocaine. The court withheld finding him guilty and postponed the case for one year as long as Wopat adheres to probation conditions imposed by the court.
He also was placed on pretrial probation for one year in connection with the two original charges of indecent assault and battery.
Those charges, filed in 2017, prompted two Wisconsin venues, the Janesville Performing Arts Center and the Stoughton Opera House, to cancel shows featuring Wopat last year.
Wopat was arrested in August 2017 as he was leaving Waltham High School, where he was rehearsing “42nd Street,” set to open the following night. He was accused of “inappropriately touching” an adult female cast member during rehearsals for the musical.
Police said they found a plastic bag containing cocaine in his pocket when he was arrested. Wopat was arraigned the next day on charges of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 and possession of a Class B substance. He pleaded not guilty.
The theater then announced a different actor would take over Wopat’s starring role in the musical, and Wopat was dropped from the production.
After the initial charges were filed, police said a 16-year-old female cast member also accused Wopat of indecent assault. A police report said Wopat allegedly hit the girl’s buttocks with his script, saying, “nice butt.”
Subsequently, charges of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14, along with two counts of accosting or annoying a person of the opposite sex, were added.
Wopat’s spokesman did not return a message from USA TODAY seeking comment.