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Cuba Gooding Jr. makes court appearance in groping case

Posted at 11:02 AM, Jun 26, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-26 13:02:08-04

Cuba Gooding Jr. appeared in court on Wednesday for a hearing related to charges he faces in an alleged groping incident in New York earlier month.

Gooding Jr. has petitioned to dismiss his misdemeanor charge of forcible touching and sex abuse in the third degree.

The judge did not rule on the motion, citing a request from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for more time to review it.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“The prosecutor is attempting to delay and drag this out,” Gooding Jr.’s attorney, Mark Heller, said outside of court, following Wednesday’s hearing.

Gooding Jr. did not speak in court.

“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.” Heller previously old reporters.

“Nothing in the video could even be considered ambiguous and I, frankly, am shocked and horrified that this case is being prosecuted,” he said.

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

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., a law enforcement source told CNN.

“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 woman left the bar and called 911 to report the alleged incident, the law enforcement source said. NYPD Manhattan Special Victims Squad investigated.

Gooding Jr.’s next court date is set for August 14.

CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia and Marianne Garvey contributed to this report.