New York county prosecutor casts doubt on sex offense charge against Cuomo

A New York county prosecutor on Friday asked a judge to delay for two months the arraignment of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on a misdemeanor sex offense charge, saying a local sheriff may have botched the case by rushing to file the complaint.

Cuomo resigned in August in the middle of his third term as governor after a five-month official inquiry found that he had sexually harassed 11 women.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple filed a "forcible touching" charge against Cuomo last month based on one woman's accusation that Cuomo groped her under her blouse at the Executive Mansion in the New York state capital of Albany.

But the charge against Cuomo was "potentially defective," Albany County District Attorney David Soares wrote in a letter to the judge dated Thursday because it failed to include a sworn statement from the accuser.