Albany County District Attorney David Soares is explaining his decision to no longer prosecute groping allegations made against former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo is accused of inappropriately touching a female aide at the Executive Mansion in Albany back in December 2020, a claim that he's denied. Soares says while his office found the woman to be both cooperative and credible, there isn't enough evidence to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. Two other district attorneys in New York have also declined to prosecute Cuomo for alleged inappropriate conduct with women.
Here is the full statement from the District Attorney's Office:
“While many have an opinion regarding the allegations against the former Governor, the Albany County DA’s Office is the only one who has a burden to prove the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. While we found the complainant in this case cooperative and credible, after review of all the available evidence we have concluded that we cannot meet our burden at trial. As such we have notified the Court that we are declining to prosecute this matter and requesting the charges filed by the Albany County Sheriff be dismissed.
“I, like most New Yorkers, remain deeply troubled by allegations like the ones at issue here. Such conduct has no place in government or in any workplace. Although avenues for criminal prosecution in these cases are sometimes limited, I encourage victims of workplace harassment and abuse to continue to come forward and bring these issues to light so that these important discussions can continue,” commented District Attorney Soares.
The decision to discontinue criminal prosecution is unrelated to any possible civil liability, which is beyond the scope of a District Attorney’s jurisdiction."