Cuba Gooding Jr. surrenders to police after woman claims he groped her at NYC bar

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. turned himself in to authorities Thursday after he was accused of groping a woman Sunday night at a bar in New York City, according to multiple reports.

Gooding, 51, surrendered to the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit on Thursday afternoon, WNBC reported. Det. Martin Brown told The Washington Post he was charged with a misdemeanor charge of forcible touching.

 

A 29-year-old woman told police Gooding grabbed her breast late Sunday night while he was intoxicated, The Associated Press reported. Authorities told WCBS the woman got into an argument after Gooding groped her and that she later called 911.

Gooding has denied the allegation.

He told TMZ on Tuesday that he went to Manhattan's Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge on Sunday but denied touching anyone inappropriately.

"I believe in the system," Gooding told TMZ. "(I'll) let the process speak for itself."

The actor's attorney, Mark Heller, told the AP that video from the bar showed "not the slightest scintilla of inappropriate conduct on (Gooding's) part."

He also disputed reports that surfaced Thursday claiming an second woman had come forward to tell police Gooding had groped her buttocks in 2008.

"There is no pattern of conduct," Heller told the AP. "It is not uncommon for people to come out of the woodwork when these things happen."

Gooding, a Bronx native, rose to fame after starring in "Boyz n the Hood" in 1991. Six years later, he won an Oscar for his role as a professional football player in "Jerry Maguire."

Gooding was nominated for an Emmy Award last year for playing O.J. Simpson in the FX series "The People v. O.J. Simpson" and recently appeared on Broadway and London's West End as lawyer Billy Flynn in "Chicago."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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