Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Jonah E. Bromwich are reporting for The New York Times that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was charged October 28, with groping a female aide’s breast “for the purposes of degrading and gratifying his sexual desires,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Albany City Court. The complaint was based on allegations made by one of many women whose accusations of sexual harassment against Cuomo formed the basis of a state attorney general’s report that eventually led to his August resignation. Cuomo, who has spent time living on Long Island since his resignation, will now be required to appear in court in Albany on Nov. 17 to be arraigned on a charge of forcible touching. The criminal complaint centers on an alleged interaction between Cuomo and an aide in the governor’s residence in Albany on Dec. 7, 2020. The charge caught Albany District Attorney David Soares by surprise. He said in a statement that, “like the rest of the public, we were surprised to learn” about the complaint filed by the county’s sheriff, Craig Apple. In such investigations, prosecutors and local police departments typically work together in initiating the criminal process. Cuomo’s personal lawyer, Rita Glavin, said in a statement the governor had “never assaulted anyone” and described Apple’s motives as “patently improper.” She criticized him for not communicating with the district attorney and accused him of effectively pronouncing the governor guilty at a news conference earlier this year before an investigation by his office had concluded. “This is not professional law enforcement,” she said. “This is politics.” Forcible touching is a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to one year in jail. It is not an unusual charge, and it can be brought in cases in which prosecutors are unable to prove that touching was done for sexual purposes. Read the full story in The New York Times.