31 January 2022: Oswego County DA Drops Cuomo Sexual Harassment Case, Says "Not an Exoneration"

DA drops Andrew Cuomo’s last sexual harassment criminal case

The last county district attorney investigating Andrew M. Cuomo's sexual harassment of an alleged victim in their county has decided against prosecuting Cuomo. Oswego County DA Gregory Oakes however has made a different version of the statements of other county DAs who have investigated Cuomo, who described the witnesses and alleged victims charging Cuomo with misconduct as "credible". The following excerpt features the Oswego DA's variation on that theme:

An upstate district attorney’s office is dropping its criminal investigation of sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo — shutting down the last of five criminal cases involving the disgraced ex-governor.

But Oswego DA Gregory Oakes told The Post on Monday that while there’s not “sufficient legal basis” to bring charges based on allegations of unwanted physical contact by accuser Virginia Limmiatis, “this decision is not an exoneration.”

“After a thorough review of the available evidence and applicable law, the Oswego County District Attorney’s Office has concluded that there is not a sufficient legal basis to bring criminal charges against former Governor Andrew Cuomo based upon the allegations of unwanted physical contact made by Virginia Limmiatis,” Oakes said in a statement Monday.

“To be clear, this decision is based solely upon an assessment of the law and whether the People can establish a legally sufficient case under controlling precedent. In no way should this decision be interpreted as casting doubt upon the character or credibility of Ms. Limmiatis, or how harmful the acts she experienced were,” he added.

Oakes told The Post in a phone interview that he’s worked special victims cases for 20 years and believes Limmiatis’ description of events.

The Oswego DA's decision to not proceed with criminal charges against Cuomo marks the end of this particular aspect of Andrew M. Cuomo's multiple scandals. With respect to the various sexual harassment allegations that led to Andrew M. Cuomo's resignation as New York governor in disgrace, the next legal phase will begin when civil litigation cases seeking damages against Cuomo are filed by his alleged victims in various county courts in New York state.