Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been accused of a misdemeanor crime of forcibly touching a staffer at the governor’s mansion last December.
Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, confirmed Thursday that a complaint has been filed in Albany City Court.
The complaint, filed by an Albany County Sheriff’s Office investigator, states that around 4 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2020, Cuomo “did knowingly and intentionally commit the Class A misdemeanor of forcible touching.”
The complaint accuses Cuomo of forcibly placing “hand under the blouse of the victim, and onto her intimate body part” for the purposes of degrading the victim and “gratifying his sexual desires.”
See related PDF Criminal_Complaint_Against_Former_Gov._Cuomo.pdf In August, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple confirmed that his office was investigating a criminal complaint from the former governor’s staffer Brittany Commisso, who accused Cuomo of forcibly groping her under her shirt when she visited him at the governor’s mansion to help him fix a problem with his phone.
In early August, a report by state Attorney General Tish James found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, including Commisso.
Cuomo denied that he sexually harassed or assaulted anyone, but resigned from office on Aug. 24.
In August, Commisso was interviewed by "CBS This Morning," and the Albany Times Union, where she spoke to CBS’s Jericka Duncan about the incident.
“Why did you file that criminal complaint with the Sheriff’s Office?" Duncan asked.
“It was the right thing to do,” Commisso answered. “The governor needs to be held accountable.”
Duncan then asked whether being held accountable means seeing the governor charged with a crime.
“What he did to me was a crime,” Commisso answered. “He broke the law.”
A spokesman for the former governor did not immediately respond. The Albany County district attorney and sheriff have also not yet spoken publicly about the charges.
Karen DeWitt covers Albany for WXXI News, a media partner of CITY.
Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, confirmed Thursday that a complaint has been filed in Albany City Court.
The complaint, filed by an Albany County Sheriff’s Office investigator, states that around 4 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2020, Cuomo “did knowingly and intentionally commit the Class A misdemeanor of forcible touching.”
The complaint accuses Cuomo of forcibly placing “hand under the blouse of the victim, and onto her intimate body part” for the purposes of degrading the victim and “gratifying his sexual desires.”
See related PDF Criminal_Complaint_Against_Former_Gov._Cuomo.pdf In August, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple confirmed that his office was investigating a criminal complaint from the former governor’s staffer Brittany Commisso, who accused Cuomo of forcibly groping her under her shirt when she visited him at the governor’s mansion to help him fix a problem with his phone.
In early August, a report by state Attorney General Tish James found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, including Commisso.
Cuomo denied that he sexually harassed or assaulted anyone, but resigned from office on Aug. 24.
In August, Commisso was interviewed by "CBS This Morning," and the Albany Times Union, where she spoke to CBS’s Jericka Duncan about the incident.
“Why did you file that criminal complaint with the Sheriff’s Office?" Duncan asked.
“It was the right thing to do,” Commisso answered. “The governor needs to be held accountable.”
Duncan then asked whether being held accountable means seeing the governor charged with a crime.
“What he did to me was a crime,” Commisso answered. “He broke the law.”
A spokesman for the former governor did not immediately respond. The Albany County district attorney and sheriff have also not yet spoken publicly about the charges.
Karen DeWitt covers Albany for WXXI News, a media partner of CITY.
