WAVE 3 reporter Sara Rivest said it was "unacceptable" when a man she didn't know kissed her cheek during a live broadcast last Friday at the Bourbon & Beyond music festival, but she accepts his apology.

Eric Goodman was charged Thursday morning with harassment with physical contact, a Class B misdemeanor, as Louisville Metro Police identified him as the man who interrupted the broadcast six days earlier. He's since written Rivest a letter apologizing for his actions and accepting responsibility, Rivest said, and the reporter felt it was only right to share it with viewers after the initial incident attracted so much attention.

"I absolutely accept Eric’s apology, I truly believe he feels bad and is sincere," Rivest said during a Thursday evening WAVE broadcast. "But his actions, they do have consequences, and from that letter it seems like he also believes he needs to face those consequences. So I also agree with the commonwealth’s decision in this case."

Rivest was taking part in a live broadcast at Bourbon & Beyond on Friday when a then-unidentified man behind her made a spanking motion with his hand and smiled as he walked off camera. The man returned a few seconds later and kissed Rivest on her cheek without her permission before running back off of the screen.

Rivest immediately said the kiss was "not appropriate" but quickly got back to reporting. As she was signing off, WAVE anchor John Boel asked her if she was OK and Rivest replied that she "might need some help" after Boel mentioned a police officer who was near the shot.

Background:WAVE 3 reporter kissed on air by man outside of Bourbon & Beyond says she felt 'powerless'

While Rivest laughed off the incident at the time while she was on live television, she later posted on Twitter that the incident was inappropriate and spoke with WAVE anchor Dawne Gee during a Monday broadcast, where she said the incident was "not OK" and that her "nervous laughter does not equate to approval of his actions."

In the apology letter Rivest read Thursday, Goodman said he was with a bachelor party at Bourbon & Beyond and "made a terrible decision with the intent only to be funny, but was clearly inappropriate and rude." He continues to apologize repeatedly for interrupting her job and invading her personal space.

"Regardless, your ability to maintain a professional composure speaks volume of your strength," the letter said. "... While I have jeopardized my integrity, I am hopeful my future actions will validate the lessons I have learned from my mistake."

KRS defines harassment as when a person "strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects (another person) to physical contact" with "intent to intimidate, harass, annoy or alarm" that individual.

The clip of the incident went viral on social media. Rivest on Thursday thanked everyone who had reached out to her and to police, and said she hoped the coverage would serve as a lesson and encourage people to act appropriately in the future.

"He wasn’t arrested for this, he won’t be going to jail, he has a court date. So mostly, this will probably be just an inconvenience for him. And I think that’s probably appropriate in this case," she said. "But the most important part of this apology to me is when he said he listened to my explanation and it changed him."

Lucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach. Support strong local journalism and subscribe: www.courier-journal.com/lucasa.