Cuba Gooding Jr. (known for his roles in Jerry Maguire and Selma) was recently charged and arrested for allegedly groping a woman at a bar. The accusations were serious and there’s proof of it happening, but he didn’t seem bothered because he was smiling while walking to the police station.
According to Time, Cuba turned himself in on Thursday afternoon and was charged with forcible touching and sexual abuse. He pleaded not guilty to the allegations, and was later released on his own recognizance after six hours in police custody.
But it’s also difficult to believe he’s completely innocent (that smile isn’t fooling any of us) after seeing the surveillance footage. TMZ published this and showed the accuser sitting next to Cuba and his girlfriend, Claudine De Niro at a club. You can later see Cuba reaching over to touch her thigh, and later appearing to touch her breast. The woman grabbed his hand, appearing to remove it and Cuba kissed her hand.
The next clip showed the woman telling a bouncer what happened while Cuba and Claudine were sitting nearby. They later left and even passed the woman.
Cuba’s lawyer, Mark Heller, insisted that his client is innocent despite the surveillance footage. “Mr. Gooding has not acted inappropriately in any shape or form,” he said. “Nothing in the video could even be considered ambiguous, and I frankly am shocked and horrified that this case is being prosecuted.” He also suggested prosecutors should charge the accuser for perjury.
Cuba is reportedly scheduled to return to court on June 26. If found guilty, he could go to prison for up to a year.
We hope the accuser would get the chance to defend herself in court because the surveillance footage definitely looks problematic.
[Time and TMZ]
Photo courtesy of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Instagram account
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