photo credit: Tinseltown // Shutterstock
Cuba Gooding Jr. has been arrested for allegedly groping a woman in a New York City bar. He turned himself in Thursday evening, showing cooperation with the investigation.
Cuba was booked for misdemeanor forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree. His attorney, Mark Heller, says he saw “no criminality” on Cuba’s part in the video.
When Cuba spoke to TMZ earlier this week, he told them he believed the surveillance video would show “what really happened, and that’s the most important thing.”
On the surveillance footage you can see around 10:15 PM on Sunday, Gooding and his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro, were sitting on a couch in the Magic Hour Rooftop Lounge in NYC, when the accuser sat down next to them. From the surveillance footage released, you see Gooding reach over Claudine and place his hand on the woman’s left thigh.
A few seconds later his hand moves up to her breast, and the accuser puts her hand on his. What happens next is open to interpretation, she either pushes his hand back toward him, or he pulls her hand to his mouth and kisses it.
Another man can be seen approaching the group. Everyone seems to be interacting fine. Eventually everyone walks away. No altercations or arguments.
About 30 minutes later, Cuba and Claudine were downstairs lounging on a couch and making out. A man, who works security for the bar, was standing next to the couch when the accuser approached him and started arguing. It’s unclear if Cuba heard their conversation, but he got up, stumbled and then walked right past the accuser and left.