A lawyer defending Cuba Gooding Jr against sex abuse charges has launched a "#NotMe" movement – one designed, he claims, to support men falsely accused of criminal behaviour.
Attorney Mark Heller told Page Six that “after fifty years of defending innocent, falsely accused and unfairly prosecuted defendants, I am igniting the #NotMe Movement”, adding: “I am totally confident that when a jury of Cuba Gooding Jr’s peers assess all of the exculpatory evidence in this case, that he will be totally exonerated. His case will be a hallmark example for the #NotMe Movement.”
Gooding Jr, who won an Oscar in 1997 for his role in Jerry Maguire, is facing forcible touching and sex abuse charges after allegedly squeezing a woman’s breast at a New York bar in June.
A New York judge previously denied a motion to drop the charges, while attorneys condemned Heller for attempting to use the accuser’s social media history as evidence against her mental stability.
“None of these [social media] statements bear any relation to the facts of this case or to defendant’s guilt or innocence,” an assistant District Attorney argued in court papers in July. “They were simply inflammatory comments used to embarrass and humiliate the complainant.”
Gooding Jr has denied all charges against him.
