Cuba Gooding Jr. faces trial on groping charges in Manhattan
Cuba Gooding Jr. appeared in a Manhattan court Thursday morning to stand trial on groping charges, CBS New York reports. Prosecutors said the charges relate to an alleged incident in June, as well as a previously uncharged incident. Details of that additional incident were not disclosed.
The case was adjourned until next Tuesday. Gooding must be arraigned on the new indictment next week before a trial can begin. He and his lawyers left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.
The actor's trial was postponed in September after prosecutors said they were still waiting for evidence in the case. His attorneys argued against the delay.
Gooding, 51, is accused of squeezing a 29-year-old woman's breast without her consent on June 9 at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square. The woman told police she believed he was intoxicated.
Gooding was arrested four days later after turning himself in to police. He pleaded not guilty to forcible touching and sexual abuse charges and was released on his own recognizance.
The actor later requested to have the case thrown out, but was rejected.
His defense had filed papers saying the case should be dismissed based on accounts from two witnesses who said it never happened and video from the bar backed up their claims. The judge ruled the conflicting accounts should be resolved at trial.
If convicted, Gooding faces up to a year in jail.
