Cuba Gooding Jr. had his hands cuffed behind his back for a Manhattan Supreme Court appearance Tuesday on charges he grabbed a woman’s backside a year ago and squeezed another woman’s breast last summer — as prosecutors revealed he now has a total of 14 accusers.
“Not guilty,” the Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” actor responded in a loud and confident voice when asked for his plea during the arraignment, his hands remaining handcuffed.
Prosecutors said the star has been indicted on four misdemeanor counts involving two women on separate occasions — adding that they plan to introduce evidence at trial of 12 additional complainants, known as Molineux witnesses, because he is not charged in their cases.
Gooding was arrested in June on charges of misdemeanor sex abuse and forcible touching after a 30-year-old accuser told police he groped her chest at a Midtown bar.
But his legal woes grew more serious last week when prosecutors revealed that he had been indicted on the original misdemeanor case and for a second incident, which The Post reported stemmed from an October 2018 crime. He faces two counts in each case.
Last week’s disclosure came on the same day jury selection was slated to begin in his misdemeanor case, delaying the proceeding.
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As The Post exclusively reported, at least three additional women had since come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct against the actor. The police said their investigation is ongoing and that Gooding has not been charged in connection with those allegations.
Gooding’s criminal troubles began after he allegedly groped the unidentified woman June 9 at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge atop the Moxy NYC Times Square hotel.
Grainy surveillance video of the incident appears to show the Oscar-winner reach over his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro, and touch the woman’s chest area, then take her hand and kiss it.
He has staunchly denied the allegations of sexual misconduct, and his girlfriend, who is the estranged wife of Robert De Niro’s son, has backed his account of the June incident.
Gooding’s lawyer, Mark Heller, has argued in court papers that the accuser is mentally unstable.
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