Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo has been charged with a misdemeanour relating to an alleged sex offence.

Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the New York state courts, said a misdemeanour complaint has been filed against Cuomo in the state capital Albany.

“As this is a sex crime, a redacted complaint will be available shortly,” he added in an emailed statement.

Cuomo’s spokespeople were not immediately reachable for comment, but the former New York governor has denied any wrongdoing.

The court has provided Sky News’ partner organisation NBC News with a copy of the criminal complaint against Cuomo – which says he has been charged with forcible touching that allegedly took place on 7 December 2020.

The incident is said to have taken place between 3:51pm and 4:07pm on the second floor of what was Coumo’s official residence at the time.

The complaint says that Cuomo has been charged with a “Class A Misdemeanor” whereby a person is “guilty of forcible touching when such person intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose forcibly touches the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for the purpose of gratifying the actor’s sexual desire”.

The investigator with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office says in her complaint that the information used to charge Cuomo comes from New York State Police Blackberry PIN messages and testimony from a redacted individual taken by the attorney general’s office

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A text message from Cuomo’s mobile phone is also among the information used to bring the charge.

The affidavit was sworn to on Monday of this week and filed with the court today.

Cuomo, 63, resigned as governor in August after 10-and-a-half years in office.

His departure came after an inquiry found he groped, kissed, or made suggestive comments to 11 women in violation of the law, prompting prosecutors to launch a criminal investigation.

US President Joe Biden was among those who called on him to quit in the wake of the report’s publication.

In a televised address, Cuomo denied wrongdoing – but said he accepted “full responsibility” for offending women through what he said had been attempts at being affectionate or humorous.

He said fighting the claims while remaining in office would paralyse state government.

If he hadn’t resigned, he would have likely faced impeachment in the state’s legislature.

Cuomo has experienced a spectacular fall from grace having previously received widespread national praise for how he led New York through the coronavirus pandemic.

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