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Cuomo’s counsel reported the incident to Albany police on Wednesday night — just hours after the Times Union published new details of a female aide’s account of what she described as sexually aggressive groping by the governor after she was called to the Executive Mansion late last year.

The referral, made by Cuomo’s office as required by state law, was confirmed by the police department’s spokesman and first reported by the New York Times.

Sheehan said that before Beth Garvey, the governor’s acting counsel, had contacted Albany police the department had been notified by State Police at the Capitol that Garvey would be calling them.

Officials with the governor’s office and the State Police did not immediately respond to questions about why the State Police did not field the complaint, or whether that agency had recused itself from the matter. The Times Union first reported this week that the woman’s allegation against Cuomo could potentially lead to a charge of misdemeanor sexual assault.

“When the police chief notified me of this notification that the police department received, I was very firm in communicating that while I understood that the department had been made aware of a potential criminal allegation, (and) that because this woman was represented, that the detectives or the police department should only contact her attorney, not her directly,” Sheehan said.

The woman’s attorney informed the city that they are not interested in pursuing a criminal complaint at this time.

The lawyer “has made it clear that she wants the attorney general’s office to have the authority to investigate this, along with the other allegations, and I am very respectful of that decision,” Sheehan said.

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A spokesman for the city police force said that the referral did not mean an investigation had begun, but that the police would offer services to the alleged victim.

“As a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that they should contact their local police department,” Garvey said in a statement. “If they decline, the agency has an obligation to reach out themselves and inform the department of the allegation.”

“In this case, the person is represented by counsel and when counsel confirmed the client did not want to make a report, the state notified the police department and gave them the attorney’s information,” Garvey said.

On March 1, the governor’s office issued a referral letter empowering state Attorney General Letitia James to commence an investigation of earlier allegations that the governor had sexually harassed at least two female staff members, including Boylan. That referral does not authorize the attorney general to conduct a criminal investigation or to subpoena witnesses before a grand jury.

It’s unclear, given the latest alleged victim’s accusations, whether the governor’s office will expand its referral to give James’ office jurisdiction to handle any criminal components of the harassment and sexual assault allegations. In essence, Cuomo would be authorizing the attorney general to investigate him for any potential crime.

Sheehan, an attorney who previously conducted sexual harassment investigations for a publicly traded company, said it is unusual for a victim of sexual harassment to pursue a criminal case against their alleged abuser.

“In my experience, I’ve never seen a complaint that resulted in criminal charges,” the mayor said. “In virtually every instance the women who are subjected to sexual harassment want the harassment to stop and they want to pursue their claims civilly. Often they want to pursue it as confidentially as possible.

“I think it’s really important to recognize that every time you make a victim tell her story, you’re re-victimizing her,” Sheehan said.

The governor’s administration has taken criticism for its failure to refer a complaint from Charlotte Bennett, another Cuomo aide who has made allegations against him, to the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, as required by his own 2018 executive order.

The Times Union reported Wednesday evening that the latest female aide to tell her story has alleged Cuomo aggressively groped her in a sexually charged manner after she had been called to the Executive Mansion under the apparent pretext of having her assist the governor with a minor technical issue involving his mobile 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 allegations by the female aide, who is the sixth woman to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior, were first reported Tuesday by the Times Union. The additional details describe the most egregious behavior attributed to the governor to date.

The person briefed on the case, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the woman — who is much younger than Cuomo — told the governor to stop. Her broader allegations include that he frequently engaged in flirtatious behavior with her, and that it was not the only time that he had touched her.

The woman’s story was revealed within the governor’s Executive Chamber on March 3, as staff members watched his first news conference in the week since Lindsey Boylan published an online essay detailing her own allegations against Cuomo. In the news conference, the governor denied ever touching any women “inappropriately.”

Hearing those remarks, the female aide became emotional. At least one female supervisor came to her assistance and asked why she was upset. The female aide subsequently told the supervisor about what she said had been inappropriate encounters with Cuomo, the source said.

In response to the Times Union’s questions about the allegations, Cuomo on Wednesday evening issued a statement to the newspaper: “As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney general’s report.”

State Attorney General Letitia James’ office is overseeing an investigation of the multiple harassment allegations against Cuomo.