Number of Cuba Gooding Jr. Accusers Explodes

As actor pleads not guilty, prosecutor says 12 women could testify at groping trial
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 15, 2019 3:19 PM CDT
A Dozen Other Accusers Say Gooding Groped Them: Prosecutor
Cuba Gooding Jr., listens during a press conference after leaving court, where he pleaded not guilty to sexual misconduct charges, Tuesday Oct. 15, 2019, in New York.   (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

From one groping accusation to more than a dozen: A Manhattan prosecutor said Tuesday that 12 more women have alleged inappropriate touching or grabbing by Cuba Gooding Jr. between 2001 and 2018, and it's possible all of them might testify at the actor's sexual misconduct trial. Gooding, 51, pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance, the AP reports; the four-count indictment stems from a woman who accused Gooding of grabbing her breast at a New York bar June 9. Gooding's defense team says it has witnesses and a video disproving her claim. As TMZ explains, two of the counts are related to that incident and the other two are related to charges from a second accuser whose involvement was revealed last week. That incident also allegedly occurred in New York, the Daily News reports.

That incident occurred on Oct. 24, 2018; the accuser says Gooding made a "sexually suggestive remark" to her at a nightclub before later pinching her buttocks without her consent. He faces one count of forcible touching and one count of sexual abuse in the third degree for each accuser. He is not being charged over the accusations from the other dozen accusers, but prosecutors say they may testify in an attempt to establish a pattern of behavior. All of those allegations involve parties, bars, hotels, or restaurants in New York, LA, Las Vegas, and other cities. "Cuba denies all of these allegations," says his lawyer. "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." (More Cuba Gooding Jr. stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X