As many as 12 Cuba Gooding Jr. accusers could testify in groping trial, prosecutors say

Cuba Gooding Jr. has pleaded not guilty to a new misconduct charge as prosecutors now say as many as 12 accusers could testify against him.

The Oscar-winning actor, who is charged with forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree, entered his plea Tuesday after being charged over two incidents, USA Today reports. Gooding was initially charged in June after a woman accused him of groping her at a nightclub in New York.

But prosecutor Jenna Long said Tuesday that as many as 12 accusers could testify against the actor during his trial, The Associated Press reports, with misconduct allegations reportedly stretching back to 2001. These are in addition to the two accusers in the cases the actor is being charged over, with the newest one relating to a woman who alleges Gooding pinched her on the behind at a nightclub in October 2018, The New York Times reports.

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The New York Daily News reported Monday that three more accusers have shared their misconduct allegations against Gooding with police, and after Gooding's arrest in June, the New York Police Department said a woman who alleges he groped her at a Manhattan club in 2008 had filed a police report.

Gooding has maintained his innocence, with his lawyer claiming Tuesday this is all a "distorted overreaction pandering to the current hypersensitive climate where innocent commonplace gestures are now misperceived and mischaracterized as offensive." The indictment alleges Gooding's behavior "shows that he routinely approaches women while at bars or nightclubs with whom he has limited or no prior interaction, and touches them inappropriately."