Cuba Gooding Jr. has been charged over an alleged third incidence of groping a woman.
Cuba Gooding Jr
The 'Jerry Maguire' actor appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court for a brief hearing on Thursday (31.10.19), where prosecutors revealed there have been more accusations made against him, including one from a waitress at LAVO nighclub, who claimed he "forcibly touched" her in September 2018.
Like two other allegations of forcible touching - one in October 2018 at TAO Downtown and another in July this year at the Magic Hour club - Cuba has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
According to CNN, prosecutors also claimed they have heard from several more women who who could testify that they were allegedly groped by the 51-year-old star.
The actor's legal team argued the latest charge doesn't specify the exact wrongdoing, simply that "something" happened.
During the hearing, the two sides rowed over who had "leaked" a tape to TMZ, which showed the 'American Crime Story' star with his October 2018 accuser, Natasha Ashworth, who has alleged the actor "pinched her buttocks" as he left the club.
Prosecutors claim the video showed up online less than 24 hours after the defense viewed it, suggesting the defense shared it, while outside the court, Cuba's lawyer Peter Toumbekis said the other side should "look into their own team" to find the source of the leak.
Assistant DA Jenna Long said in court: "We've provided defense counsel a short clip from one of the incidents and, within 24 hours, that video had been released to the media.
"We feel that the release is inappropriate and an effort to taint the jury pool. The video released was also incomplete and only shows conduct from immediately after the charged incident."
Defense lawyers Peter and Mark Heller denied releasing the video and claimed their client was only being prosecuted because of his fame.
Mark said: "This is clearly a case of malicious prosecution and we are confident that as soon as this case is dismissed, we will hold the city of New York and the accusers accountable for their conduct."
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