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Cuba Gooding Jr. pleads not guilty to new groping charges

By Sommer Brokaw
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. leaves court after his arraignment on Tuesday in New York City. Photo by Peter Foley/UPI
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. leaves court after his arraignment on Tuesday in New York City. Photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded not guilty in New York City court Tuesday to added misdemeanor charges that follow a separate groping case this summer.

Gooding faces a four-count indictment of forcible touching and third-degree sex abuse. Tuesday he pleaded not guilty to a pair of misdemeanor charges that say he fondled a second woman in Manhattan a year ago. The court released him on his own recognizance.

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Defense attorney Mark Jay Heller told NBC News earlier the new charges were "unsubstantiated" and "from a long time ago."

Gooding surrendered to New York City police on June 13 on the original misdemeanor charges that said the Oscar winner touched a 29-year-old woman unsolicited at a Manhattan lounge that month. The accuser said she believed Gooding was intoxicated at the time.

If convicted, Gooding could face up to a year in prison. His next court date is in December.

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