Cuba Gooding Jr. pled not guilty to two counts of forcible touching and two counts of third degree sexual abuse during an arraignment hearing in Manhattan on Tuesday.
The “Jerry Maguire” actor was led into the courtroom by New York police in handcuffs. He faces charges related to two incidents that allegedly occurred at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar this past June and at the TAO Nightclub in New York in October 2018. Gooding Jr. surrendered himself to police for arrest on the former charge.
The rooftop bar accuser told police that Gooding Jr. groped her breast while intoxicated, and prosecutor filings show that the TAO Nightclub accuser says that Gooding Jr. made a “sexually suggestive remark” to her and later groped her buttocks.
Prosecutors also note in the indictment that they have received 12 additional accusations from other women that go as far back as 2001. These accusations are not included in the formal charges, but prosecutors hope to use them as proof that the two incidents included in the charges were not accidental or consensual and that the defendant has a pattern of sexually abusive behavior.
Gooding Jr. has denied all wrongdoing, and his attorney, Mark Heller, said he was “dumbfounded” by the claims. Heller told reporters outside the courthouse that two witnesses will testify denying the rooftop bar incident and that video footage will prove his client’s innocence
“If there was any evidence it would have already been presented to the grand jury,” he said. “The allegations will never result in a conviction for anything.”