Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been charged with a misdemeanor sex crime for allegedly groping a woman at the state’s Executive Mansion last year.
via NBC:
Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state court system, confirmed a misdemeanor complaint against Cuomo had been filed in a “sex crime” case in Albany City Court.
A copy of the complaint from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by News 4, alleges that Cuomo committed the misdemeanor act of forcible touching at his official residence on the afternoon of Dec. 7 last year, between 3:51 p.m. and 4:07 p.m.
“At the aforesaid date time and location the defendant Andrew M. Cuomo did intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim [redacted] and into her intimate body part. Specifically, the victims (sic) left breast for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires, all contrary to the provisions of the statute in such case made and provided,” the complaint reads.
The complaint cites evidence including cell phone records, state Capitol swipes, state police records and text messages from Cuomo’s cell phone, while also pointing to some findings listed in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ report, released Aug. 3 — a week before Cuomo announced he would be resigning.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said in a press release that investigators with his office had been looking into the allegations since Aug. 5, and “determined that there was enough probably cause to present evidence to the court.” A summons was issued for Cuomo, who is expected to surrender and appear in court on Nov. 17 at 2:30 p.m., when he will be fingerprinted and photographed.
The complaint does not name the victim, however the details in the sheriff’s report appear to mirror the story told by former staffer Brittany Commisso, who had complained that Cuomo touched her breast under her shirt. Commisso initially thought the incident had occurred in Nov. 2020, rather than in early December, as is listed in the criminal complaint.
Apple had previously said his office was investigating a complaint made in August by a female Cuomo staffer identified in Attorney General Letitia James’ report as Executive Assistant #1. That woman, Commisso, later came forward to publicly identify herself in interviews.
Commisso’s lawyer did not return a request for comment from NBC New York, but in a statement to the Times Union of Albany, said that they too were caught off guard by the charges being filed.
“It was my client’s understanding that the district attorney’s office was in agreement with the sheriff’s department that it was going to conduct a thorough, impartial and apolitical evaluation of the case, and only after completion of the investigation, speak to my client to allow her to make an informed decision as to whether she would proceed as a victim,” the attorney said. “Like the district attorney’s office, she was informed about this recent filing though media.”
In response to the charges filed in the complaint, Cuomo’s attorney Rita Glavin called the sheriff’s motives “patently improper,” and once again denied the governor committed any wrongdoing.
“Sheriff Apple didn’t even tell the District Attorney what he was doing. But Apple’s behavior is no surprise given (1) his August 7 press conference where he essentially pronounced the Governor guilty before doing an investigation, and (2) his Office’s leaking of grand jury information,” Glavin said in a statement. “This is not professional law enforcement; this is politics.”
Albany District Attorney David Soares said “like the rest of the public, we were surprised to learn today that a criminal complaint was filed in Albany City Court by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office against Andrew Cuomo.” Soares added that his office won’t have further comment on the case.
Glavin has also repeatedly tried to debunk Commisso’s allegation, in part questioning her initial recollection of a Nov. 2020 date for the alleged incident.
“We’re aware of no record indicating that Brittany Commisso was at he mansion in November on any other day than November 16th,” Glavin said during a press conference earlier this year.
The governor resigned in August after an investigation by the attorney general’s office found he had committed criminal sexual harassment.
James released a statement after the charges were filed, saying that “from the moment my office received the referral to investigate allegations that former Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, we proceeded without fear or favor. The criminal charges brought today against Mr. Cuomo for forcible touching further validate the findings in our report.”
While the AG’s office did not have the authority to charge him for the alleged conduct outlined in its report, authorities in multiple counties have been investigating him since.
None of this would’ve happened if he just would’ve kept his hands to himself.
