NY Governor Andrew Cuomo accused of fondling employee

The Democrat has denied the new allegation from the sixth woman, which he said was ‘gut-wrenching’.

Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly denied all the claims against him. Picture: AFP

New York governor Andrew Cuomo, under investigation for sexual harassment, is facing a new, more serious allegation of groping an employee.

The Albany Times Union first wrote on Wednesday AEDT that a sixth woman had accused Cuomo of harassment. But on Thursday, it reported new details of the unnamed woman’s encounter with the governor, citing a person with “direct knowledge” of her claims.

According to the newspaper, the woman had been called to the governor’s mansion in Albany last year on the “apparent pretext” of helping him with a problem with his phone.

“They were alone in Cuomo’s private residence on the second floor when he closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and began to fondle her, according to the source,” the newspaper wrote.

The employee, who has not filed a formal complaint, also said the Democrat governor touched her inappropriately on other occasions.

And the daily reported that her story first came out when she, along with other staff members, watched Mr Cuomo give a press conference on March 3 denying earlier allegations.

She became emotional before telling a female supervisor what had allegedly happened.

Mr Cuomo, 63, denied the new allegation from the sixth woman, which he told the newspaper was “gut-wrenching”.

He has repeatedly denied all the claims against him and said that he would await the results of an independent investigation into the allegations, overseen by the state Attorney-General ­Letitia James.

Previous accusers have referred to sexual harassment or inappropriate gestures.

AFP