It is 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 newspaper.

“The end result could either be it sounds substantiated and an arrest is made and it would be up to the DA to prosecute the arrest,” he told the newspaper, which was the first to report on the complaint. “Just because of who it is we are not going to rush it or delay it,” Apple said.

Apple did not return a phone message from Associated Press.

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 together for a photo.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately provide a copy of the complaint.

04:21

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed women, investigation finds

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed women, investigation finds

Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin, did not 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.

The Albany County district attorney would not confirm that they received a complaint, saying they had no plans to release any information because “this is an ongoing matter that is under review,” spokeswoman Cecilia Walsh said in an email.

Calls for Cuomo’s resignation or impeachment soared this week after an independent investigation overseen by the state attorney general’s office concluded that Cuomo 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 her account.

“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 said she pulled away from Cuomo, telling him “You’re crazy.”

Cuomo has adamantly denied touching her breasts, saying: “I would have to lose my mind to do such a thing.”

Records confirm that the woman was at the mansion for several hours on November 16 and had at least one interaction with the governor, but Glavin said she also sent emails to staff while she was in the building that did not mention that anything upsetting had happened.

Mariann Wang, a lawyer for two other accusers, said the governor’s lawyers are ignoring any fear the employees had of being punished by Cuomo if they complained.

“The fact that any assistant might try to continue with her day or act ‘normal’ even after being harassed brutally is something many women who have been harassed at work understand,” Wang said. “These women are trying to survive.”

The woman told investigators she had initially planned to take the harassment claims “to the grave.”

Prosecutors in several New York counties have said they are interested in investigating claims of inappropriate touching by Cuomo, but all had said they needed the women involved in the allegations to make a formal report.

The Albany Police Department, the primary law enforcement agency for the city, had been informed of the woman’s allegations regarding the encounter at the mansion several months ago and had spoken to her lawyer, but did not open an investigation at the time because she did not make a report.

The criminal investigation comes as lawmakers were moving towards a likely impeachment proceeding over the allegations.

Lawyers working for the state Assembly sent a letter to Cuomo on Thursday giving him until August 13 to respond to the allegations against him or provide documents to bolster his defence.

The state Assembly’s judiciary committee plans to meet on Monday to discuss the possibility of impeachment proceedings. Nearly two-thirds of the legislative body have already said they favour an impeachment trial if he will not resign.

Glavin and a lawyer representing the governor’s office, Paul Fishman, criticised the attorney general’s office for not providing its findings to them ahead of time and claimed the investigators did not take a strong enough look at the accusers’ credibility. They also demanded an opportunity to see transcripts of interviews witnesses gave to investigators.

Attorney General Letitia James’ spokesman Fabien Levy, said the office will be providing interview transcripts to the Assembly, and said the women’s accounts were “corroborated by a mountain of evidence.”

“To attack this investigation and attempt to undermine and politicise this process takes away from the bravery displayed by these women,” Levy said.