ALBANY, N.Y. -- A woman who accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of groping her breast at the governor's state residence has filed a criminal complaint against him, the Albany County sheriff's office said Friday.
The complaint, filed Thursday, is the first known instance where a woman has made an official report with a law enforcement agency over alleged misconduct by Cuomo. Its filing is a potential first step toward lodging criminal charges.
"We take every complaint seriously," Albany County Undersheriff William Rice said Friday.
It's possible the Democratic governor could be arrested if investigators or the county district attorney determine he committed a crime, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told the New York Post.
"The end result could either be it sounds substantiated and an arrest is made, and it would be up to the [district attorney] to prosecute the arrest," he told the newspaper. "Just because of who it is, we are not going to rush it or delay it," Apple said.
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The Cuomo aide who filed the report has accused him of reaching under her shirt and fondling her when they were alone in a room at the Executive Mansion last year. The woman also told investigators with the attorney general's office that Cuomo once rubbed her rear end while they were posing for a photo.
Cuomo's lawyer, Rita Glavin, didn't immediately address the criminal complaint in an online briefing with reporters, but said the groping allegation -- which was also outlined in newspaper articles and in a report released by the New York attorney general's office -- was fabricated.
"He is 63 years old, he has spent 40 years in public life, and for him to all of the sudden be accused of a sexual assault of an executive assistant that he really doesn't know, doesn't pass muster," Glavin said.
Calls for Cuomo's resignation or impeachment soared this week after an independent investigation overseen by the state attorney general's office concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.
The attorney general's report describes a series of times Cuomo allegedly acted inappropriately with the aide described as Executive Assistant #1, culminating with the groping encounter at the mansion in November 2020.
According to the woman, Cuomo pulled her in for a hug as she prepared to leave the governor's office at the mansion. Told that "you're going to get us in trouble," Cuomo replied, "I don't care," and slammed the door shut. He slid his hand up her blouse and grabbed her breast over her bra, according to the report.
"I have to tell you, it was -- at the moment, I was in such shock that I could just tell you that I just remember looking down seeing his hand, seeing the top of my bra," she told investigators.
She pulled away from Cuomo and said, "You're crazy."
Cuomo has adamantly denied touching her breasts, saying, "I would have to lose my mind to do such a thing."
Information for this article was contributed by Michael Hill of The Associated Press.