On Friday, an Albany County judge determined that a case could not properly be filed against Cuomo based on the complaint written by former aide Brittany Commisso. The request to drop the case came after prosecutors filed a motion claiming they could not determine any further steps.
“We have reviewed all of the available evidence and concluded we cannot successfully secure a conviction in this case,” said assistant district attorney Jennifer McCanney during the hearing.
In response to the prosecution, Judge Holly Trexler decided to drop what was arguably the most serious complaint against the former governor. “This court is acutely aware of the fact that the district attorney’s office has unfettered discretion to determine whether to prosecute a particular person or case,” she concluded.
Despite this legal hurdle being cleared, this is not the end of Cuomo’s legal troubles regarding numerous allegations of sexual harassment against him. He could face lawsuits from Commisso or his other accusers if they choose to take their complaints to court. However, there is currently no word on whether or not this will happen.
Meanwhile, Commisso, who accused Cuomo of fondling her at one of his offices, expressed dismay at the verdict. She released a statement to the Times Union of Albany.
“My disappointing experience of re-victimization with the failure to prosecute a serial sexual abuser, no matter what degree the crime committed, yet again sadly highlights the reason victims are afraid to come forward, especially against people in power,” she said.
The misdemeanor complaint that was dropped this week was filed by the local sheriff in October, two months after Cuomo resigned from office.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares told Trexler this week that although he believed the aide was credible, and some evidence supported her allegation, he believed he couldn’t win a conviction in court.
Soares and Cuomo’s attorney each asked the judge to dismiss the complaint. With an arraignment already scheduled, the judge said Cuomo and the attorneys should appear virtually. The judge presided over the proceeding from an Albany courtroom with the lawyers participating via videoconference.
Commisso’s testimony was among the most damning in a report released in August by Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James that concluded Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.
Cuomo resigned that month. He has called the report unfair and has vehemently denied the groping allegation.
Soares has said he was caught by surprise when Sheriff Craig Apple, a fellow Democrat, filed the forcible touching complaint without consulting the prosecutor’s office. Soares called it “potentially defective” and moved to delay Cuomo’s arraignment, originally set for November.
In a letter to Trexler on Tuesday, Soares said “statutory elements of New York law make this case impossible to prove.” He added that multiple government inquiries into Cuomo’s conduct had created “technical and procedural hurdles” regarding prosecutors’ obligations to disclose evidence to the defense.
Some legal experts said Soares’ decision illustrated the difficulties of prosecuting sex crime allegations. But others said he should have proceeded if he considered the accuser credible.
Soares, in a radio interview Friday, noted that the attorney general’s inquiry didn’t have the same legal requirements as a criminal case, and he said prosecutors can’t be swayed by public sentiment or “passions.”
“It’s not for me to engage in any kind of debate with those who aren’t equipped with as much information or the obligations that I have. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but there’s only one person with a burden of proof, and that’s me,” he told the WAMC/Northeast Public Radio network.
“I think the more dangerous position is to have a person in my position who will move forward, press forward, with cases because of fear of public backlash,” he added.
Two prosecutors in the New York City suburbs separately announced last month that Cuomo would not face charges for allegations involving other women who said they had been subjected to unwanted kisses or touches.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
