Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. to go to trial on groping charge, request to have case dismissed denied
On August 8, a judge in New York City denied Oscar-award winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr.’s request to have his groping case thrown out of court. According to the judge overseeing the case, Gooding had not “provided compelling reasons to warrant dismissal.” The judge also wrote, “The conflicting factual allegations between the criminal court information and the defendant’s motion should be resolved at trial,” according to The Los Angeles Times.
A criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in Manhattan has accused Gooding of placing his hand on a 29-year-old woman’s breast and squeezing it without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square on June 9. The woman told police she believed Gooding was intoxicated.
Following that police complaint in June, Gooding, of “Jerry Maguire” and “People vs. O.J. Simpson” fame surrendered himself to the New York City Police Department, “after a woman accused him of groping her at a Manhattan bar,” according to a report from MSN. The 29-year-old accuser claims that the actor touched her breasts while the two were at bar.
ABC News reported that the 51-year-old actor was looking at a misdemeanor forcible touching charge. Gooding has denied fondling the woman. This isn’t the first time Gooding has been accused of fondling women, according to ABC.
In 2012, a group of women claimed he fondled them in a New Mexico bar, but Gooding Jr. told TMZ at the time that the allegations were “b——-.” No charges were ever filed in that case.
That same year, he was also accused of pushing a female bartender in New Orleans, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The bartender later dropped all charges, according to reporting from CNN.
Gooding has pleaded not guilty and is free on his own recognizance, according to USA Today. If found guilty though, he could find himself behind bars for up to one year.
On the day before he surrendered himself to police in NYC in June, Gooding claimed to have evidence proving his innocence in this case. “There’s a tape that shows what really happened. I believe in the system and let the process speak for itself.” Following that alleged groping incident, the woman left the bar and called 9-1-1.
Gooding’s trial in the groping case is scheduled to commence on September 3. His lawyer is confident that his client will be found innocent of the charge.
~ Written by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
