Cuba Gooding Jr’s appeal to have his groping case dismissed has been rejected by the judge, after he was accused of groping a woman’s breast at a bar in Manhattan, New York.
New photos show Cuba leaving criminal court in New York yesterday, as his lawyers say they will provide a video proving the alleged incident never happened.
Cuba had requested for the case to be dismissed until 14 August, as his upcoming filming projects could be affected due to him having to travel between his Hollywood home and court in New York.
His lawyer told Judge Keisha Espinal: ‘Mr Gooding’s life is put on hold. It’s on a pause button. It’s urgent that this matter be dismissed as quickly as possible.’
Cuba was seen smiling outside of court and nodded when asked by photographers whether he thought the case would ultimately be dismissed.
The actor, 51, is accused of putting his hand on a 29-year-old woman’s breast and squeezing it without consent at the Magic Hour rooftop bar near Times Square on 9 June, 2019.
Cuba was arrested four days later after he turned himself in to police, and pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released after six hours in custody.
If convicted, Cuba could face up to a year in jail, but his defence team have provided a CCTV video from the bar which they claim will prove that Cuba is innocent of the allegations.
The video, which was published by TMZ, shows Cuba sat on a couch with the woman, with his girlfriend sat in between them.
Cuba’s defence attorney claims the woman made the accusations were made after the woman felt rejected by Cuba and his girlfriend after they asked her to leave them alone when they spotted that she was following them around.
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