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Cuba Gooding Jr. charged with forcible touching in New York groping incident

Posted at 3:44 PM, Jun 13, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-13 15:45:10-04

Cuba Gooding Jr. has been charged with forcible touching, a misdemeanor, relating to an alleged groping incident in New York City last weekend.

Gooding Jr. voluntarily surrendered to the NYPD for questioning on Thursday.

Mark Heller, his attorney, said during a press conference that his client is being prosecuted and was finger printed and photographed during his time with police.

Heller said Gooding Jr. will enter a plea of not guilty.

“In my 50 years, almost, of practicing law, I have never seen a case like this one because there is not a scintilla of criminal culpability that can be attributed to Mr. Cuba Gooding Jr. after I have extensively, with my staff, reviewed the video of almost two hours which reflects the entire event for which we are here today,” Heller said to reporters. “Mr. Gooding has not acted inappropriately in any shape or form. Nothing in the video could even be considered ambiguous and I, frankly, am shocked and horrified that this case is being prosecuted.”

NYPD met with the Oscar winner after a 29-year-old woman filed a police report claiming that Gooding Jr. grabbed her breast at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in Manhattan on Sunday.

The actor has denied the claims.

The woman in the alleged incident told police she was with friends when she was confronted by a male patron whom she described as Gooding Jr., according to a law enforcement source who spoke with CNN on Wednesday.

“The male allegedly groped her breasts,” the source said. “The victim later told cops she protested at the unwanted touching and they argued about the encounter.”

The female left the bar and called 911 to report the alleged incident, according to the law enforcement source, and NYPD Manhattan Special Victims Squad is investigating.

In 2012, Gooding Jr. faced similar trouble when a New Orleans bartender accused him of pushing her. The unnamed female bartender told police Gooding Jr. stopped by the Old Absinthe House in the French Quarter and soon became angry with other patrons who recognized him and wanted to take pictures with him.

The bartender told police she asked Gooding Jr. to calm down, at which point he allegedly pushed her away. Another employee called 911 and told Gooding Jr. to leave, and as he left, he pushed the bartender again, police said.

The bartender eventually dropped the charges.