Photo by Bauzen/GC Images(NEW YORK) — Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded not guilty Thursday to one misdemeanor count each of forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree.
The plea came in a New York City court after the 51-year-old Oscar winner surrendered to police earlier in the day at the NYPD’s 25th Precinct in Harlem.
The charges stem from the actor’s alleged groping of a woman’s breast inside Manhattan’s Magic Hour Rooftop Bar last Sunday night, a claim Gooding denies.
The complaint itself asserts Gooding “forcibly touched the sexual and other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading and abusing such person, and for the purpose of gratifying the defendant’s sexual desire; the defendant subjected another person to sexual contact without the latter’s consent.”
TMZ posted video Thursday afternoon they say was taken inside the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar, which they also claim shows Gooding touching the breast and thigh of his accuser.
However, Gooding’s attorney, Mark Heller, claims surveillance video from the establishment from the night in question will exonerate his client.
Gooding’s next court date is scheduled for June 26.
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