Cuba Gooding Jr. appeared in court on Tuesday to be arraigned on new, sealed charges which are the latest in a string of sexual misconduct claims.
The actor is already facing groping and sexual abuse charges for allegedly touching a woman’s breast in a Manhattan nightclub in June.
Last week, when he arrived at court for potential jury selection in that case, he was hit with a grand jury indictment on a separate incident which took place in 2018.
It remained sealed for days and will only be made public after the actor’s hearing on Tuesday.
Since then, another three women have spoken to NYPD detectives alleging other incidents of sexual assault.
Gooding Jr. was in high spirits on Tuesday. He smiled in the courtroom before being arraigned.
Gooding Jr leaves court on Tuesday after being arraigned on sealed grand jury charges
Cuba Gooding Jr smiled on Tuesday as he arrived at court to be arraigned on new charge after handing himself in to police
Cuba Gooding Jr’s lawyer Mark Heller speaking outside the court, while he was being processed, on Tuesday ahead of his arraignment
On Tuesday morning, his lawyer Mark Heller said he ‘surrendered’ himself to the NYPD before going to court.
‘Cuba has just surrendered to the police and he will be processed and shortly be brought up for the arraignment.
‘Cuba has just surrendered to the police and he will be processed and shortly be brought up for the arraignment.
‘On the eve of the criminal case trial, they indicted Mr Gooding Jr and they moved this case to the Supreme Court where we will be appearing today.
‘They were not prepared to move forward, by doing so, they prolonged the case and were able to start all over again today in the supreme court.
Cuba Gooding Jr. raises his eyebrows as he sits in court last Thursday. He had shown up for his forcible touching trial but was hit with new charges in a sealed, grand jury indictment
‘We are completely confident that there will be no criminal conviction of Cuba Gooding Jr. He is certainly innocent of the allegations that will be rpesented today before the court.
‘We’re going to ask that the court send this case out today to trial. These criminal proceedings are long and while that happens, the defendant’s life is put on hold.
‘I feel four months is far too long a period of time to put a person like Cuba’s life on hold,’ he said.
The alleged attacks in Manhattan bars and restaurants date back to 2008 and show a ‘pattern’ of behavior, one official told The New York Post.
The new charges remain under seal but they are expected to be made public imminently.
Gooding Jr., 51, was arrested in June after the 29-year-old woman, who has not been named, phoned police claiming that he grabbed her breast in front of his girlfriend while he was drunk at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar in Manhattan.
She alleged that Gooding Jr. groped her in front of his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro, and that he also felt her leg.
He has always denied it, saying that she tried to come on to him and called the police when he rejected her.
Surveillance footage shows Gooding Jr. stroking his accuser’s leg and appearing to lean over his girlfriend, who was sitting between them, and reaching his hand toward her chest at the Magic Hour Rooftop in Manhattan in June this year
Last week, Gooding Jr. was the second defendant called by Judge Herb Moses after a different case.
He said nothing and did not react strongly when the new indictment was referred to.
It remains unclear whether or not his lawyers knew it was coming.
The District Attorney filed it shortly before the case was called.
They previously alleged in court documents that the original accuser approached him and his girlfriend when they were sitting at a table in the club and that he asked her to leave them alone.
They also alleged that police were called to the scene that night and after reviewing 45 minutes of footage, found nothing incriminating.
However prosecutors decided to push ahead with the case afterwards.
Surveillance footage of the incident, in which the actor is seen stroking the alleged victim’s thigh and then reaching over towards her chest, is likely to be submitted into evidence.
The grand jury indictment came as a surprise last week.
The actor’s attorneys said it was a ‘stalling’ tactic by the district attorney’s office, designed to delay the original trial.
Gooding Jr and his girlfriend, Claudine Deniro, out in New York City on Monday