Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Groping Trial Moving Forward

Michael Prieve 2 Min Read
"Rocketman" New York Premiere
US actor Cuba Gooding Jr. attends the US premiere of "Rocketman" on May 29, 2019 at Alice Tully Hall in New York. (Photo by Don Emmert / AFP / Getty Images)

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr will go on trial over accusations he groped a woman in New York after a court dismissed his plea to have the case thrown out.

Gooding, 51, is accused of grabbing the woman's breast without her consent in a Manhattan bar on a night out in June.

The Oscar-winning actor is charged with forcible touching and could face up to a year in prison if convicted.

Gooding denies the charges and his lawyers applied to have them dismissed, stating that footage from the bar's security cameras showed that their client was innocent.

"Rocketman" New York Premiere
Cuba Gooding Jr. attends the “Rocketman” New York Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on May 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

But on Wednesday New York State criminal court judge Phyllis Chu rejected their plea, saying that conflicting accounts of what happened could only be resolved at trial.

The defense had filed papers saying the misdemeanor forcible touching case should be dismissed based on accounts of two witnesses who say it never happened, and that video from the barbacks up that claim.

The papers argued that since there was clear evidence that no crime was committed, it was necessary to throw out the case to protect the integrity of the criminal justice system.

"Rocketman" New York Premiere
Cuba Gooding Jr. attends the “Rocketman” New York Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on May 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

The judge wrote: “This court disagrees. The conflicting factual allegations between the criminal court information and the defendant's motion should be resolved at trial.”

Gooding turned himself into police on 13 June and was released later that day without bail.

The trial is scheduled to start on September 3, 2019.

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