Cuba Gooding Jr. to Appear in NYC Court for Groping Case
Cuba Gooding Jr. is expected to appear in court on Tuesday after a judge denied his attorney’s motion to dismiss the groping case brought on against him.
The 51-year-old is facing forcible touching, a misdemeanour, and sexual abuse charges in connection to an alleged incident in which he groped a woman at a rooftop bar in Manhattan in June.
According to court documents initially submitted last month looking for his case to be dismissed, Gooding’s attorney Mark Heller argued that law enforcement committed misconduct when they allegedly disregarded or suppressed statements made by the accuser. Additionally, he said that there were individuals allegedly present who affirm they never say Gooding touch the woman.
In his decision, Judge Phyllis Chu disagreed with the arguments made by the Gooding’s team saying, “The conflicting factual allegations between the criminal court information and the defendant's motion should be resolved at trial. Despite the defendant's submissions, this is not a "rare case[s] where there is a compelling factor which clearly demonstrates that prosecution ... would be an injustice.”
Additionally, Chu said that the court found the allegations are “sufficiently serious such that any hardship experienced by the defendant is not enough to satisfy either the purpose and effect of an authorized punishment for these charges.”
In response to the judge’s ruling, Heller posted a statement on his website not only announcing he started the “Not Me Movement," but that he is confident Gooding will be “totally exonerated.”
Photo Credit: Patrick McMullan via Getty Image
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