Judge refuses bid by Cuba Gooding Jr’s lawyer to dismiss case after his lawyer claimed woman accusing Jerry Maguire star of groping her in NYC rooftop bar has ‘troubled mentality’
- Oscar winner will stand trial in Manhattan Criminal Court beginning Sept 3
- Gooding’s lawyer, Mark Heller, expects his client to be exonerated
- Gooding is accused of squeezing 29-year-old woman’s breast on June 9
- Alleged incident took place at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar near Times Square
A New York City judge rejected actor Cuba Gooding Jr’s request to have his groping case thrown out.
Judge Phyllis Chu said in a written ruling this week that conflicting accounts of the accusations against the Oscar-winning Jerry Maguire star should be resolved at a trial starting Sept. 3.
An attorney for Gooding, Mark Heller, said in a statement Thursday that he still expects his client to be exonerated.
A criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in Manhattan has accused Gooding of placing his hand on a 29-year-old woman’s breast and squeezing it without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square on June 9.
The woman told police she believed Gooding was intoxicated.
Cuba Gooding Jr is seen above as he is being led by an NYPD officer after his arrest on June 13
The 51-year-old Gooding was arrested four days later after turning himself in to police.
He pleaded not guilty to forcible touching and sexual abuse charges and was released on his own recognizance after about six hours in police custody.
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 bar backs 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.
Heller also questioned the accuser’s credibility, saying her blog posts are indicative of a ‘troubled mentality.’
The woman wrote in an online blog that she suffers from anxiety and depression, among other ailments, according to Page Six.
She added that she ‘basically learned that my brain was one big fat mess,’ the Manhattan Criminal Court filing says.
Manhattan prosecutor allege that Gooding squeezed a 29-year-old woman’s breasts without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge (seen in the above file photo) near Times Square on June 9
Heller writes that the blogs ‘have included statements which clearly reveal the metamorphism of a troubled mentality which sheds light on why she would make false allegations after being rejected and rebuffed that evening and asked to excuse herself from Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s and [his girlfriend] Claudine De Niro’s presence and give them privacy.’
He later writes that a ‘careful review’ of ‘statements’ on her blog ‘provide considerable insight into the dynamics of why an individual with certain mental characteristics would be predisposed to make a false accusation against someone because, for example, they rejected her, or she was jealous of them, or was envious of their fame, or felt that in their presence she was inferior, or would never fit in.’
Heller’s argument did not convince the judge to dismiss the case.
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.’