Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo has been charged with sex crimes after a complaint filed a case against him in the state of Albany on Thursday. It seems like his misconduct in the governor’s is now catching up with him.
The filed case accuses “Mr. Cuomo of groping a woman under her blouse at the governor’s mansion.” Cuomo was issued with a criminal summons to appear in court on 17 November. Contents of the court’s filing state that the ex-governor “intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim and onto her intimate body part.”
It explains how he did this heinous act “for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires, all contrary to the provisions of the statute.” According to reports from the courts, the complaint did not reveal the victim’s name “but says the alleged abuse occurred at the governor’s executive mansion in Albany on 7 December 2020”.
A spokesman for the New York state courts, Lucian Chalfen, said, “a misdemeanor complaint has been filed against Cuomo” and added that “As this is a sex crime, a redacted complaint will be available shortly” [Source].
Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s lawyer and a member of his legal team, was interviewed by CBS and cited that Cuomo denies this abuse and painted it as a move by the disgruntled sheriff who has an “improper” native. Glavin added that “This is not professional law enforcement; this is politics.” However, Cuomo’s legal team has yet to provide evidence supporting their claim of some government officials involved in a witch hunt for their client.
New York Attorney General Letitia James commented on these allegations and tweeted that “The criminal charges against Mr. Cuomo for forcible touching further validate the finding in our report.” She spearheaded an investigation into Cuomo’s conduct when he was the governor and compiled a 165-page public report published on various online platforms.
During her press conference on this investigation, she said, “The independent investigation has concluded that Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law” [Source]. About 200 women were estimated to have been abused by the then New York governor, and James’s team only interviewed 179 who confirmed the abuse.
The Attorney General, who is believed to be the next governor, did not have any kinds words towards Cuomo and suggested that he leave office. The same chant was echoed in various government departments, and even US president Biden wanted him to resign.
After facing attacks from his government peers and other political leaders, Cuomo decided to leave office in August. But it seems like his resignation was not enough as victims are now gunning for his prosecution.
In an 85-page statement, Cuomo refuted all the allegations laid by the Attorney General but eventually said, “The best way I can help now is if I step aside and let the government get back to the government.” [Source]. James discovered that he had harassed 11 female employees, but he denied any sexual misconduct and was humble enough to apologize “forever making any woman feel uncomfortable.
Now he has to prepare himself for a court case that might ruin his reputation forever if he is found guilty. Former aide to Cuomo, Brittany Commisso, also filed a complaint two months ago in which she was accusing him of “touching her breast last year,” but Cuomo denied doing this to Commisso.
This promises to be an interesting issue in the courts, considering that it comes shortly after famous R. Kelly was found guilty of harassing women. The judges might use that momentum to try Cuomo and bring justice to those men who abuse females.
