Three more women have reportedly accused actor Cuba Gooding Jr. of sexual misconduct.
Two of the women bringing new accusations against Gooding said he grabbed their behinds in New York City restaurants in 2008 and 2013, respectively, while the third woman’s accusations are unclear, according to the New York Post’s Page Six.
The newspaper reports that law enforcement sources said that the police are currently investigating the accusations.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the New York Police Department said only, “The NYPD takes sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors.”
Gooding has not been charged in those three new cases. However, he has been charged with forcible touching for allegedly grabbing a woman’s breast on 9 June at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge in New York City. Gooding has pleaded not guilty. The maximum penalty for the offence is a year in prison.
The Jerry Maguire star’s trial in that case had been scheduled to begin Thursday, but it was postponed after prosecutors filed charges in a second incident, which allegedly took place in October 2018.
Gooding is now expected back in court for his arraignment on 15 October.
The actor’s lawyer, Mark Heller, told the New York Daily News that the new claims have no merit.
“If there was any evidence it would have already been presented to the grand jury,” Heller told the outlet. “The allegations will never result in a conviction for anything.”
Heller also accused Gooding’s second accuser, the one for which charges have just been filed, of having come forward after a failed attempt to obtain money from the star.
