A prosecutor investigating the sexual harassment allegations against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is requesting a delay over fears that a complaint could be "potentially defective," the Associated Press reported.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares filed the request, putting the rest of the case in jeopardy. Soares had sent a letter to Judge Holly Trexler regarding the complaint and requested that the hearing be rescheduled. Cuomo was initially scheduled to be arraigned in court on November 17, but it has been adjourned until January 7.
"We were in the middle of that investigation when the Sheriff unilaterally and inexplicably filed a compliant in this court," said Soares in the letter to Trexler. "Unfortunately, the filings in this matter are potentially defective in that the police-officer-complainant failed to include a sworn statement by the victim such that the People could proceed with a prosecution on these papers."
The one-page complaint accused Cuomo of forcibly putting his hand underneath an executive assistant's shirt and was filed in the Albany City Court. Forcible touching is considered a misdemeanor in the state of New York and is punishable by up to a year in jail.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
The complaint did not name the woman, but she has identified herself as Brittany Commisso, who worked as one of Cuomo's executive assistants before he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations in August.
Many cases for first-time offenders of forcible touching are resolved with probation or a shorter jail sentence.
Newsweek previously reported that other punishments for the misdemeanor include three years of probation, community service, a jail sentence of less than one year, and a sentence that combines probation. Cuomo would not have to register as a sex offender if convicted of the misdemeanor.
New York law defines forcible touching as "the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for the purpose of gratifying the actor's sexual desire." Types of forcible touching include "squeezing, grabbing, or pinching" and must be carried out "intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose."
Apple has previously been criticized for his handling of the case. Cuomo's attorney, Rita Glavin, said that the sheriff of Albany County "didn't even tell the District Attorney what he was doing."
"But Apple's behavior is no surprise given (1) his August 7 press conference where he essentially pronounced the Governor guilty before doing an investigation, and (2) his Office's leaking of grand jury information," she continued in a statement. "This is not professional law enforcement; this is politics."
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