A woman who accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of groping her while taking a photo in the Executive Mansion filed a criminal complaint in Albany County on Thursday.
The anonymous woman alleges Cuomo reached under her blouse and groped her breast while at the mansion. The state attorney general’s report identified the alleged victim as “Executive Assistant #1.” The complaint was filed on Thursday with the Albany County District Attorney’s office, Sheriff Craig Apple told the New York Post.
“The end result could either be it sounds substantiated and an arrest is made, and it would be up to the DA to prosecute the arrest,” Apple told the outlet.
“We are aware that there are media reports of formal complaints being filed in an ongoing inquiry being conducted by our office,” a communications director with the sheriff’s office told the Washington Examiner on Friday, adding, “We will not be confirming these reports.”
The woman also told investigators Cuomo engaged in other inappropriate contact with her since 2019, saying that on various occasions, the governor grabbed her buttocks, kissed her on the lips, hugged her inappropriately, and spoke to her about her personal life.
Cuomo has denied any allegations by the alleged victim, who reported the incident as happening on Nov. 16 last year, according to Attorney General Letitia James’s investigation.
The governor denied kissing the executive assistant in his testimony and told investigators she initiated their hugs and that he was “more in the reciprocal business.”
He added that he “would go along” with tight hugs that the executive assistant initiated because he did not “want to make anyone feel awkward about anything.”
James’s report detailed that Cuomo retaliated against former employees who complained publicly about his conduct, saying that staff in his office were left intimated and fearful by a hostile work environment. The result of the inappropriate conduct created a hostile work environment for women, the report said.
The report, which was released on Aug. 3, prompted numerous lawmakers in Congress to call for Cuomo to step down, ultimately capping the day with President Joe Biden calling for the governor to resign.
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Cuomo has ignored calls to resign and so far has given no indication he plans to step down from office.
