Cuba Gooding Jr. Accused of Groping 14 Women at Bars and Clubs
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Prosecutors on Tuesday accused Cuba Gooding, Jr., of a long-standing pattern of approaching unfamiliar women in bars and kissing, pinching, biting or groping them.
Gooding appeared in court in Manhattan for an arraignment on four misdemeanor counts of forcible touching and third degree sexual abuse. He pleaded not guilty, and is due back in court on Dec. 13.
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Gooding had previously been charged with grabbing a woman’s breast at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar on June 9. Last week, a grand jury indicted the actor on two charges in connection with that incident, in addition to two charges related to a second incident, in which he allegedly pinched a woman’s butt at TAO nightclub on Oct. 24, 2018.
Prosecutors said they also intended to call another 12 women to testify in support of the charges. The so-called “Molineux” witnesses allege that Gooding groped them, bit their shoulders or grinded against them in incidents dating back to 2001.
“Defendant’s past behavior shows that he routinely approaches women while at bars or nightclubs with whom he has limited or no prior interaction, and touches them inappropriately,” wrote assistant district attorney Jenna Long.
Long argued that the witnesses could demonstrate that Gooding’s conduct is not innocent or accidental, but rather part of a well established pattern of non-consensual touching.
One witness alleged that she was introduced to Gooding at a party at Shore Bar in Santa Monica. After some discussion, he asked her to lean in so he could tell her something. He then grabbed her buttocks and her breast and forcibly kissed her, according to the prosecution’s motion.
Another woman said she encountered Gooding at Cafe Habana in Malibu, where he allegedly reached under her skirt and touched her vagina over her underwear. A year later, the woman saw Gooding at Shore Bar, where she punched him in the neck or chest and yelled at him about the incident.
Another alleged that Gooding approached her from behind at Chi in Hollywood in 2006, and bit her shoulder. She turned around and asked if he had bitten her shoulder, and he shrugged. She turned around, and he did it again. She said he then started to pull her shirt up and thrust himself against her leg, and was stopped when a companion pulled him away.
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