The groping case against Cuba Gooding Jr. has just gotten more serious, as Manhattan prosecutors revealed in court this morning that he was indicted on a new charge that includes allegations in an “additional incident.”
Gooding’s legal troubles started in June when he allegedly grabbed a woman’s breast at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar in New York City. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Gooding was subsequently hit with two misdemeanor counts in that alleged incident, forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree, to which the actor pleaded not guilty.
Now, he has been indicted by a New York grand jury with a new and previously uncharged incident added, and the result is that his trial on the original charge that was set to begin today has been postponed and a new arraignment has been scheduled for October 15h.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Jenna Long filed a “certificate of affirmative grand jury action” Thursday, according to Justin Henry, spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Henry said the indictment and the details of the charges will not be unsealed until Gooding’s arraignment on the indictment next week.
The Academy Award-winning actor was originally charged in June with misdemeanor groping stemming from a New York City bar encounter with an unnamed 29-year-old woman.
His trial was supposed to start in September, But instead, the case was postponed because prosecutors said they were still waiting for evidence in the case.
Gooding’s New York defense attorney Mark Heller told USA TODAY in an email that the defense was “ready for a trial” this week. He did not immediately return a call requesting comment on the new developments.
Gooding has pleaded not guilty, insisting that “nothing happened.”
