NY State Worker Who Testified Andrew Cuomo Grabbed Her Butt Hadn’t Come Forward Fearing Retribution

Former NY Ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo, forced to resign earlier this year as he faced impeachment over Attorney General Letitia James' report concluding he had sexually assaulted 11 women, is to appear in court on 7 January to face a misdemeanour charge of forcible touching after claims that he groped the breast of former aide Brittany Commisso.

A female New York State event organiser has claimed that she was “shocked” and belittled after former Governor Andrew Cuomo “grabbed her butt” at a public event.

State investigators were told that Cuomo had allegedly groped the woman at a Hudson River revitalisation event on 14 September 2019, according to a transcript released by the state attorney general last week.

The unnamed female employee said she and her supervisor had introduced themselves to the former governor at the event, which was hosted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the nonprofit Hudson River Trust, with Cuomo suggesting they take a picture together. At this point Andrew Cuomo purportedly grabbed the woman’s arm to “pull” her into the photo.

“At the conclusion of the photo he took his hand and double-tapped the area where my butt and my thigh meet, so kind of under my butt cheek… I think immediately after I knew it was wrong, but I think the weight of the situation was a little heavy,” states the transcript.

The employee claimed that being accosted thus left her feeling shocked and “much… smaller and almost younger than I actually am because kind of the funny part of it all is I was making this project happen”. The woman insists she didn’t hesitate to tell her boss about the incident, but her seemingly “confused” supervisor, while giving her “eye contact”, failed to voice any support.

However, the woman identified as “State Entity Employee #1” in the transcript. said she received support from family and friends after exchanging text messages with them. Screenshots of the latter were provided to State investigators.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo arrives to depart in his helicopter after announcing his resignation in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 10, 2021.

© REUTERS / CAITLIN OCHS

The woman claimed that she had opted to keep silent on the matter and not report the groping incident, as she feared that accusing the powerful governor could wreck her career. Furthermore, she pointed out that at the time there had been no evidence that Andrew Cuomo was sexually harassing women. In response to the woman’s claims, Cuomo said he could not recall attending the event. When state investigators specifically asked him if he touched anyone's butt, he answered “No”.

In a written rebuttal of Attorney General Letitia James' report, Rita Glavin, the lawyer representing Cuomo, said the woman's allegations did not amount to sexual harassment, reported the New York Post.

“If anything, the governor had fleeting physical contact with this individual as he posed for pictures. He did not intentionally "grab" anyone's butt," added Glavin.

The public event in question had been attended by the former governor with his daughters, and there were neither photos nor videos showing him engaging in any inappropriate behaviour at the gathering, according to the lawyer. She also complained that investigators did not show the governor any photos from the Hudson River revitalisation event to jog his memory.

People walk by as a farewell speech by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is broadcast live on a screen in Times Square on his final day in office in Manhattan, New York City, US, August 23, 2021

© REUTERS / ANDREW KELLY

Democrat Andrew Cuomo was forced to resign from office on 10 August following an investigation overseen by Attorney General Letitia James that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, including current and former staffers, while serving as New York Governor.

In late October Cuomo was charged with forcible touching in another case involving an accuser, identified by her lawyer as 33-year-old former administrative assistant Brittany Commisso. The charge, submitted to court by the sheriff’s office, claims Cuomo “did intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim … and onto her intimate body part.”

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The aide who accused NY Gov. Cuomo of groping her, Brittany Commisso, speaks publicly for the first time…"What he did to me was a crime."#ArrestAndrewCuomo
pic.twitter.com/wTs7uc6Xv2

— Andrew C ™️ (@Sheckyi) August 8, 2021

If convicted of a Class A misdemeanour, Andrew Cuomo could face up to a year in prison, or up to three years of probation.

While the ex-governor was originally scheduled to be arraigned on 17 November, the court appearance was postponed to 7 January after District Attorney David Soares requested a 60-day adjournment to address a number of issues with the case Andrew Cuomo has dismissed all claims of touching anyone inappropriately, in turn accusing the women of exaggerating or misinterpreting his behaviour.