Cuba Gooding Jr. set to appear in court as lawyer seeks to dismiss groping case
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Cuba Gooding Jr is set to appear in court Wednesday in New York as his lawyer seeks the dismissal of charges he groped a woman’s breast in a Manhattan bar.
Gooding is accused of groping a 29-year-old woman who says the Oscar-winning actor grabbed her breast during an evening of drinking at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge in midtown Manhattan on the evening of June 9.
The accuser has not been identified and it is not clear whether she has a lawyer or representative to speak for her. Â
After she called police early on June 10, police told reporters they were investigating a report of “forcible touching” but did not identify the accused as Gooding. Instead, the New York Post identified Gooding as the target.
On Tuesday evening, preparing to board a flight in Los Angeles, Gooding was stopped by a paparazzo and was recorded denying he groped anyone. He also said there was a “tape” that would show what happened.Â
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Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. will turn himself in to police after an alleged groping incident at a New York City bar.
USA TODAY
Gooding turned himself in on June 13, was arrested and arraigned on one misdemeanor count of forcible touching. He pleaded not guilty.
According to the complaint filed at Gooding’s arraignment, the language of the statute he allegedly violated reads: “The defendant intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly touched the sexual and other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading and abusing such person, and for the purpose of gratifying the defendant’s sexual desire; the defendant subjected another person to sexual contact without the latter’s consent.”
Snippets of the video surveillance tape from the Magic Hour published by TMZ is fuzzy and confusing.
Heller, however, says he viewed the entire two-plus hours of tape and he thinks it exonerates Gooding. He says the video shows the accuser “stalking” Gooding and his girlfriend in the bar.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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![Cuba Gooding, Jr. in a scene from the film Jerry Maguire.]()
1 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr., celebrates his Academy Award for his role in Jerry Maguire on March 24, 1997, in Los Angeles.]()
2 of 18![Cuba Gooding, Jr. in a scene from the motion picture Men of Honor.]()
3 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr., who stars as a Navy cook in the movie Pearl Harbor, poses with U.S. Navy seamen on May 22, 2001, as he arrives for the world premiere of Pearl Harbor in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.]()
4 of 18![Ed Harris and Cuba Gooding, Jr. in a scene from the motion picture Radio.]()
5 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr. sits for a portrait while promoting his film Shadowboxer at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10, 2005, in Toronto.]()
6 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr. attends the Los Angeles premiere of Avatar at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Dec. 16, 2009, in Hollywood, Calif.]()
7 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr. arrives at the 16th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Jan. 23, 2010.]()
8 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr. sits for a portrait while promoting his movie Red Tails on Jan. 10, 2012, in New York.]()
9 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr. attends Lee Daniels' The Butler Los Angeles premiere held at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on Aug. 12, 2013 in Los Angeles.]()
10 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr.and Jennifer Lawrence arrive at the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Jan. 18, 2014.]()
11 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr. arrives on the red carpet for the Stadium Series hockey game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Jan. 25, 2014.]()
12 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr., left, plays O.J. Simpson and Courtney B. Vance plays attorney Johnnie Cochran as they react to the verdict in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.]()
13 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr. arrives at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 18, 2016.]()
14 of 18![Gregg Bello and Cuba Gooding Jr. attend the after party for Louisiana Caviar at The Mailroom on Feb. 26, 2018, in New York.]()
15 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr. arrives at the New York Police Department's Special Victim's Unit, on June 13, 2019, to face allegations he groped a woman at a city night spot. A 29-year-old woman told police the 51-year-old Gooding grabbed her breast while he was intoxicated around 11:15 p.m. June 9, 2019. Gooding denies the allegations.]()
16 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr., center, is lead by police officers from the New York Police Department's Special Victim's Unit, on June 13, 2019, in New York.]()
17 of 18![Cuba Gooding Jr., left, is lead by a police officer from New York's Special Victim's Unit on June 13, 2019 in New York.]()
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