Cuba Gooding Jr. will stand trial in New York for forcible touching and sexual abuse beginning October 18, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The charges stem from an alleged encounter with a woman at the Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge in the Moxy Times Square Hotel.  A patron at that bar claims the actor groped her breast, an allegation Gooding denies.

Gooding was formally charged with misdemeanor forcible touching at the NYPD’s 25th Precinct in Harlem, New York, in 2019, and later indicted. 

He pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count each of forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree.

Attorneys for the Jerry Maguire star had previously sought to dismiss the case, arguing that a video of his encounter with the woman in question shows that he didn’t grope her. A judge declined to dismiss the case.

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