Cuba Gooding Jr. Charged With New Crime Amid Sexual Assault Case
Cuba Gooding Jr. has been charged with another crime, although the nature of the crime has been sealed until his next court appearance.
On Thursday, the 51-year-old actor appeared in court in New York City and the Manhattan D.A. announced that the Oscar winner has been indicted on another charge, though it's been sealed until next Tuesday, Oct. 15, when he will be arraigned for it. As ET previously reported, Gooding Jr. was arrested and charged with forcible touching back in June and turned himself into the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. The actor is accused of allegedly groping a woman at a bar in New York City. He has maintained his innocence and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Assistant D.A. Jenna Long stated that the charges in the new indictment cover the existing incident, as well as a new, previously uncharged incident. It is unclear if the new charge involves the same woman who initially made the groping allegation against the actor.
Gooding Jr. appeared in good spirits as he entered the courthouse on Thursday with his lawyer, Mark Heller, flashing a smile and waving. According to an eyewitness, when he was called to the judge inside the courtroom, he seemed relaxed and even smiled slightly for the courtroom photographers. During the short proceedings, the prosecution said they are ready to proceed with the trial and that they filed a new charge against Gooding Jr. on Wednesday, but did not specify what the charge was.
Gooding Jr.'s last court appearance was on Sept. 3, when his groping trial was postponed. During a press conference, Heller said he and Gooding Jr. were confident that the case will be dismissed and that the prosecutors "will be embarrassed" for wasting everyone's time. Heller also stated that his client is at the forefront of the "Not Me Movement," which is for people falsely accused of assault. He said he believes that Gooding Jr. was targeted simply because of his celebrity status.
In August, New York City judge Phyllis Chu rejected Gooding Jr.'s petition to dismiss the misdemeanor charges against him. According to the court documents obtained by ET at the time, Gooding Jr. did "not set forth compelling factors to warrant dismissal in the interest of justice" for his misdemeanor charges of forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree.
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