Cuba Gooding Jr. Pleads Not Guilty to Charge of Forcible Touching

Cuba Gooding Jr. was arrested and charged Thursday afternoon in New York City for allegedly groping a woman Sunday night, police told The Hollywood Reporter. 

Gooding was charged with forcible touching, police told THR. That is a misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, according to the Associated Press. 

The 51-year-old Oscar-winning actor surrender earlier in the day, arriving at the station around 11 a.m. surrounded by his legal team. A large group of reporters were there to greet him as he stepped out of the car.

“Mr. Gooding is in custody, charges are pending,” Det. Denise Moroney of the NYC Police Department told THR shortly after he arrived. 

The actor’s attorney said Wednesday that Gooding planned to surrender to police. 

While at LAX Wednesday morning, Cuba told TMZ the accusation was false and cameras at the bar would show he did nothing wrong. “I trust the system and let the process speak for itself,” he said then. TMZ obtained video supposedly taken at the venue of the alleged incident, but police have yet to verify its authenticity.

The alleged incident occurred at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge in Midtown Manhattan. Gooding and the person making the accusation reportedly got into an altercation after the alleged groping. 

“The NYPD takes sexual assault extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors,” police said in a statement Monday.

The actor’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for additional comment.

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. just turned himself into NYPD at Special Victims Unit in Harlem for allegedly groping woman at Manhattan nightclub. @fox5ny @ChrisSobel @DebraCheatham @beckycartercook #CubaGoodingJr #nypd pic.twitter.com/5i97bGpP8x

— Linda Schmidt (@LSchmidtFox5) June 13, 2019