Att’y: No grope, so case has no hope
Sez vid only shows Gooding’s hand on knee
Viral video depicting Cuba Gooding Jr. in close contact with his groping accuser doesn’t show us the money shot, his lawyer claimed Friday.
The recording made Sunday night inside Midtown’s Magic Hour rooftop bar and obtained by TMZ.com appears to show the “Jerry Maguire” star placing his hand on the woman’s knee with his girlfriend Claudine De Niro seated between them.
He appears to move his hand up toward the woman’s chest, though it’s not clear exactly what’s happening.
He then takes the woman’s hand as she either pushes him away or he pulls her hand toward his mouth for a kiss, TMZ reported.
“There was no contact of a sexual nature by Cuba in that video,” Gooding’s lawyer Mark Heller told the Daily News in a phone interview Friday.
He claimed the unidentified accuser was the “intruding” party.
“This woman came along. She almost sat on Claudine’s lap,” Heller said.
Asked to comment on the clear shot of Gooding touching the woman’s knee, he said it was irrelevant.
“He’s not accused of touching her leg. He’s accused of squeezing her breast,” Heller said.
“I am now going to do something very unique. I am going to utilize a special provision to file a motion to dismiss this case in the interest of justice. We will submit supporting affidavits from all the parties there. They all told me absolutely nothing inappropriate took place. I will have the court look at tvideo. I am confident it will result in a dismissal,” he said. Reached by The News on Friday, De Niro declined to comment.
“I’m not talking,” she said in a brief phone exchange. Gooding was charged Thursday with two misdemeanors, forcible touching and third-degree sexual abuse.
He pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance and was released without bail.
In the complaint made public Thursday, prosecutors said the accuser “observed the defendant place his hand on her breast and squeeze.”