This week a Manhattan gynecologist was convicted of sexually assaulting his patients during examinations and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Doctor Goes To Jail For Abusing Patients
Gynecologist Robert Hadden turned on the waterworks in Manhattan federal court Tuesday, telling a judge he was “very sorry” before he was officially sentenced to 20 years behind bars for sexually abusing dozens of vulnerable patients.
Hadden, 64, told the court there was “much I’d like to say” but that his attorneys had advised him to keep his statement short.
“I’m very sorry for all the pain that I have caused,” he said through tears.
Prosecutors have described Hadden as a “predator in a white coat”, saying he lured out-of-state patients to his examination room in New York to abuse them.
The abuse began when Hadden started practicing in 1987 and continued until 2012 when he was exposed. Hadden was indicted on state charges in 2014 as over 19 women came forward.
After being convicted in 2016 on sex-related charges in state court, he surrendered his medical license but was not sentenced to prison.
Nine victims testified at the trial, describing how Hadden molested them during gynecology treatments, starting in the late 1980s, at prominent hospitals, including Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Hadden’s Abuse Was Horrendous
According to trial testimony, Hadden benefited from the prestige of the hospitals where he worked. There, he could groom his patients in a private office decorated with pictures of his children as he talked with them about their personal lives.
Once he isolated them after a chaperone or nurse left the treatment room, he fondled and probed them with gloveless fingers and sometimes orally.
The judge noted that many patients were particularly vulnerable because they were pregnant, had physical problems, or had never been to another gynecologist. They also trusted that Hadden was behaving properly.
The latest federal trial involved fewer victims, where Hadden was convicted of four counts of enticing women to cross state lines so he could sexually abuse them.
Judge Richard M Berman doled out the maximum possible prison sentence, saying earlier this week that Hadden’s case is “like no other in my experience in terms of horrendous, beyond extraordinary, depraved sexual assault.”
During his three-week trial in January, jurors heard from several of Hadden’s former patients. They detailed how he carried out his horrid abuse.
Prosecutors also presented evidence that Hadden committed as many as 310 sexual abuse and assault on dozens of patients in his care.
Victims Get a Sigh of ‘Relief’
Hadden’s victims previously sued Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Hadden’s former employers.
The hospitals agreed to pay more than $200m to 226 former patients across two legal settlements in 2021 and 2022.
“Hadden will rightfully spend decades in federal prison,” the statement said. “We thank and commend the victims who bravely came forward to share their stories and ensure that their abuser faces justice.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Kim said Tuesday that Hadden still had not accepted responsibility for his crimes.
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