Andrew Cuomo won’t be charged for allegedly touching state trooper
Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo won’t face criminal charges after a female state trooper said she felt “completely violated” by his unwanted touching at an event in September 2019, a Long Island prosecutor announced.
Acting Nassau county district attorney Joyce Smith said in a statement that an investigation found the allegations against Cuomo “credible, deeply troubling, but not criminal under New York law”.
Smith opened the investigation after details of the encounter appeared in state attorney general Letitia James’ August report on sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo.
The report chronicled accusations from 11 women and led to Cuomo’s resignation from office, though he has attacked the findings as biased and inaccurate.
A message seeking comment was left with Cuomo’s spokesperson.
According to James’ report, the trooper said Cuomo ran the palm of his left hand across her abdomen, to her belly button and then to her right hip, where she kept her gun, while she held a door open for him as he left an event at Belmont Park, Long Island, on 23 September 2019.
Cuomo was at the state-owned racetrack, home to the last leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, to break ground on a new arena for the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders nearby.
The trooper, a member of Cuomo’s security detail, told James’ investigators that Cuomo’s conduct at the event made her feel “completely violated because to me, like that’s between my chest and my privates”.
James’ report said that although the trooper was upset by Cuomo’s unwanted touching, she did not feel she could do anything about it.
“I’m a trooper, newly assigned to the travel team. Do I want to make waves? No,” she said, according to the report. “I’ve heard horror stories about people getting kicked off the detail or transferred over like little things. … I had no plans to report it.”
The trooper told James’ investigators that what happened at Belmont Park was just one of many instances of Cuomo’s “flirtatious” and “creepy” behavior toward her.
One time, in an elevator, he traced his finger from her neck to her back, she said. Another time, he asked to kiss her in the driveway outside his Mount Kisco home, she said.
“I remember just freezing, being – in the back of my head, I’m like, oh, how do I say no politely?” she told investigators.
The Nassau county investigation was limited to the encounter at Belmont Park.
In October, the Albany county sheriff’s office filed a misdemeanor groping complaint against Cuomo, but a week later the district attorney asked a judge for more time to evaluate the evidence.
Cuomo’s scheduled arraignment in that case is due 7 January.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html