Andrew Cuomo Facing Forcible Touching Charge
Kevin Duggan
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has reportedly been living in the Hamptons since resigning amid a slew of sexual harassment allegations, is expected to be arrested this week on a charge of forcible touching, authorities said.
A complaint filed on Oct. 28 by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office accuses Cuomo of forcible touching, a class A misdemeanor, for allegedly groping a woman at the Governor’s Executive Mansion on Dec. 7, 2020. Cuomo allegedly put his hand under the victim’s shirt and onto her left breast, the complaint reads.
The defendant’s name was redacted from the complaint, but the description matches allegations by former Cuomo-aide Brittany Commisso. Commisso’s was the most serious allegation among the 11 women who accused the disgraced former governor of sexual harassment in New York State Attorney General Letitia James’s bombshell report.
Cuomo‘s lawyer, Rita Glavin, said in a statement to local media outlets that he was innocent and questioned Albany Sheriff Craig Apple’s handling of the case, saying he “didn’t even tell the district attorney what he was doing.”
“This is not professional law enforcement; this is politics,” she said.
The district attorney for Albany County, David Soares, issued a separate statement suggesting that the sheriff had acted independently of local prosecutors.
The former governor has long denied wrongdoing, though he has said he accepted “full responsibility” for what he called ill-conceived attempts to be affectionate or humorous.
“In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn,” he said in announcing his resignation.
-Via amNew York Metro with Reuters and Timothy Bolger
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