Cuba Gooding Jr, an American actor, has been accused of raping a woman twice at a New York hotel in 2013 — as he awaits groping trial.
The allegation was contained in the civil lawsuit filed before a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.
In the suit, the anonymous woman simply identified as Jane Doe, said she met Gooding at a Manhattan bar in August 2013 and was thereafter invited by the actor to join him for drinks at a nearby hotel.
The 52-year-old movie star explained that he had only invited the woman up into his hotel room because he needed to change his clothes.
But in the suit, the woman alleged that the award-winning actor raped her in the process, noting that she told him no “numerous times but he wouldn’t stop.”
The woman is praying the court for a jury trial as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
In a statement, however, Mark Heller, counsel to the actor, dismissed the lawsuit as “completely false and defamatory.”
“My client is totally innocent of any of these false allegations and we’re confident it will be dismissed,” Heller was quoted as saying.
“She’s probably just somebody who’s looking for some glory to bask in the publicity and notoriety of Cuba Gooding Jr’s case.”
Although the actor has been accused of groping by several women, this is the first time he will be facing a rape allegation.
The allegation comes about a year after the actor pleaded not guilty in New York to charges of groping three different women in nightclubs in the city.
His trial for the charges was earlier billed to commence in April but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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