Aide who accused Cuomo files criminal complaint
ALBANY, N.Y. — A woman who accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of groping her breast at the governor’s state residence filed a criminal complaint against him, the Albany County Sheriff ’s office said Friday.
The complaint, filed Thursday with the sheriff ’s office, is the first known instance where a woman has made an official report with a law enforcement agency over alleged misconduct by Cuomo.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told the New York Post it is possible the Democratic governor could be arrested if investigators or the county district attorney determine he committed a crime.
“The end result could either be it sounds substantiated and an arrest is made and it would be up to the DA to prosecute the arrest,” he told the newspaper, which was the first to report on the complaint. “Just because of who it is we are not going to rush it or delay it.”
The aide who filed the report has accused Cuomo of reaching under her shirt and fondling her when they were alone together at the Executive Mansion last year. The woman also told investigators with the attorney general’s office that Cuomo once rubbed her rear end while they were posing together for a photo.
Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin, didn’t immediately address the criminal complaint in an online briefing with reporters, but said the groping allegation — which was also outlined in newspaper articles and in a report released by the New York attorney general’s office — was fabricated.
“This woman’s story, which is stated as fact in the report, is false,” Glavin said.
The Albany County district attorney’s office said they had no plans to release any information because “this is an ongoing matter that is under review,” spokesperson Cecilia Walsh said in an email.
Calls for Cuomo’s resignation or impeachment soared this week after an investigation overseen by the state attorney general’s office concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.
Prosecutors in several New York counties have said they are interested in investigating claims of inappropriate touching by Cuomo, but all have said they needed the women involved in the allegations to make a formal report.