Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. arrives at New York City Police Department's (NYPD) Special Victims Division (SVU) in the Harlem neighbourhood in New York, U.S., June 13, 2019. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
(Reuters) - Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was charged on Thursday with forcible touching after a woman accused him of groping her at a Manhattan bar last weekend, New York City police said.
The “Jerry Maguire” actor was charged after reporting to police on Thursday, the New York Police Department public affairs office said.
He faces one misdemeanor account of forcible touching in an incident that occurred on Sunday when an unidentified woman said Gooding touched her breasts at the bar.
Gooding’s attorney, Mark J. Heller, said he was “completely confident that (Gooding) will be totally exonerated.” He told reporters that Gooding will enter a not guilty plea at an initial court appearance.
“There is not a scintilla of criminal culpability that can be attributed to Cuba Gooding Jr.,” Heller said after the actor was charged.
Heller said he was “shocked and horrified” that the case was being prosecuted after he presented police with security video from the bar that the attorney said showed no criminal behavior by Gooding.
Gooding won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1997 for his portrayal of an athlete in the film “Jerry Maguire.” In 2016, he was nominated for an Emmy for playing O.J. Simpson in the miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”
New York media reported on Thursday that another woman had come forward this week alleging inappropriate behavior by the actor in 2008.
Heller said Gooding had “no knowledge” of the alleged 2008 incident, which falls outside the statute of limitations for any potential charges.
Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Leslie Adler and Susan Thomas
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