Cuba Gooding Jr. Faces More Charges — as Prosecutors Allege He 'Routinely' Abuses Women in Bars
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr., who was already facing two sex abuse charges, now faces four additional charges, PEOPLE confirms.
In total, the actor is charged with six misdemeanor counts of forcible touching and third-degree sexual abuse.
On Tuesday, he entered not guilty pleas to the latter four charges after previously pleading not guilty to the initial two.
Gooding, who is set to return to court on Dec. 13, was previously accused of grabbing a woman’s breast at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar on June 9.
However, a grand jury last week indicted the actor, 51, tacking on two additional charges stemming from that incident as well as two charges related to a second incident, in which he allegedly pinched a woman’s buttocks at TAO nightclub, according to a copy of the indictment, which was obtained by PEOPLE.
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Authorities allege that incident occurred on October 24, 2018.
According to the indictment, prosecutors allege they could call another 12 women to testify in support of the new charges. Some of those women say the actor groped, bit, or rubbed up against them.
The indictment alleges Gooding has habitually abused strangers in bars and clubs since 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.
The supporting court documents allege one woman claims Gooding touched her breast and buttocks at a party in Santa Monica, California, before forcibly kissing her.
Another woman alleges she met Gooding in Malibu, and that he reached under her skirt and fondled her vagina over her underwear.
Another woman alleges that Gooding snuck up behind her and bit her shoulder in 2006 at an event in Hollywood. When she asked him if he’d bitten her, he shrugged before doing it again.
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RELATED: Cuba Gooding Jr. Turns Himself in to Police for a Second Time on New Charge: Report
One woman told authorities Gooding allegedly approached her at a Los Angeles bar in 2011 and groped her chest before asking her to “sit on my face, pee in my mouth.”
The court papers further allege Gooding has used inappropriate and at times aggressive language while interacting with women he doesn’t know.
Speaking to TMZ, Gooding’s lawyer, Mark Heller, said his client “denies all of these allegations. This is a typical scenario in which random people come out of the woodwork to accuse a celebrity who has already been charged. They have no credibility because Cuba was not charged with any of those allegations.”
