Gooding faces new charges and accusers

NEW YORK — Cuba Gooding Jr. is facing a growing cast of sexual misconduct accusers, with prosecutors Tuesday unveiling new criminal charges against the actor and telling a judge they intend to have up to a dozen women testify that he violated them, too.

Standing in a New York City courtroom, Gooding pleaded not guilty to an indictment that includes the new charges, which allege he pinched a woman’s buttocks at a Manhattan nightclub in October 2018 after making a sexually suggestive remark to her earlier.

The indictment expands a case that started with Gooding’s arrest in June after a 29-year-old woman told police that the actor, who won an Oscar for “Jerry Maguire,” squeezed her breast without her consent at another Manhattan nightspot. A trial date has not been set.

Gooding’s lawyer, Mark Heller, said the case is an example of the #Metoo movement run amok and that overzealous prosecutors are looking to turn “commonplace gestures” into crimes.

Heller said the accuser approached Gooding for a settlement after his arrest and only went to the authorities when he refused to pay.

“We are shocked, outraged and absolutely dumbfounded that the district attorney’s office has wasted the taxpayers’ money, resources and time in charging Cuba with these two incredulous cases,” Heller told reporters. He said video evidence would exonerate his client.

Gooding, 51, was released on his own recognizance.

Gooding’s trial could turn into a referendum on his behavior for most of his career, as prosecutors look to bolster their case with a parade of witnesses who say he violated them in bars, hotels and restaurants as far back as 2001. Gooding