Cuba Gooding Jr. is facing a new charge in addition to an earlier one stemming from accusations he groped a woman's breast at a New York City bar in June.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office said in a statement Thursday that the charges in an indictment against the Oscar-winning actor cover the event at the bar in June as well as a new, previously uncharged incident.
The indictment is to be unsealed at Gooding's Oct. 15 arraignment.
Gooding, 51, appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday for what was supposed to be the start of his trial on the earlier charge related to the alleged incident on June 9. In that case, a woman claims she was at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge near Times Square when Gooding placed his hand on her breast and squeezed it without her consent.
The actor voluntarily surrendered to the police in June and was charged with third-degree misdemeanor sexual abuse and forcible touching. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and was released on his own recognizance.
Mark Jay Heller, an attorney for Gooding, said in a statement Thursday, "The new charge is an unsubstantiated allegation from a long time ago" that will not result in a conviction.
"They have put together hundreds of pages of non-incriminating irrelevant material," Heller said of authorities. "They have also conducted seven interviews and they compiled 2,500 videos, none of which incriminate Cuba."
"What they have done here is taken this case which they are not prepared to move forward to trial into the grand jury which they can do without the original accuser and use that as a strategy to delay and prolong the case for an additional period of time," Heller said. "They are simply doing this to continue the process.