A former New York doctor was charged with using his position to sexually abuse dozens of women and girls for nearly two decades, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Robert Hadden, 62, who was an obstetrician/gynecologist at Columbia University, allegedly used appointments with his patients for his own sexual gratification between 1993 and 2012, according to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) press release. Hadden was arrested Wednesday morning, the press release said.
“The allegations show that Hadden acted as a predator in a white coat,” said acting U.S. attorney Audrey Strauss. (RELATED: FBI Asks Public To Report Child Sexual Abuse During Zoom Meetings Through New Online Questionnaire)
“He allegedly used the cover of conducting medical examinations to engage in sexual abuse that he passed off as normal and medically necessary, when it was neither normal nor necessary – it was criminal,” she continued.
BREAKING: Robert Hadden, the gynecologist accused by Evelyn Yang, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, of sexually assaulting her now faces federal charges related to abuse of six women, including one minor. https://t.co/lXUUgznDQS
— Benjamin Weiser (@BenWeiserNYT) September 9, 2020
Hadden allegedly built a relationship with his victims before engaging in increasingly abusive behavior, according to the DOJ. He would often send nurses away so that he could be alone with his alleged victims, the press release said.
Some of his alleged abusive conduct included sexualized breast exams, conducting pelvic exams in an invalid manner and licking a victim’s vagina during a pelvic exam, according to the DOJ. Hadden allegedly enticed six victims, including a minor, to travel from other states to engage in illegal sexual activity.
One of his alleged victims was a minor who Hadden had delivered, according to the DOJ. Evelyn Yang, wife of former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, said in January that she was victimized by Hadden when she was pregnant, ABC News reported.
“I knew it was wrong. I knew I was being assaulted,” Yang said in a January CNN interview. She said Hadden examined her “internally” ungloved during one appointment.
The New York district attorney agreed to a plea deal in 2016 with Hadden who pled guilty to two out of nine charges against him, CNN reported. Hadden avoided jail time, but lost his medical license and had to register as a low-level sex offender as part of the deal.
Hadden faces a sentence of up to 120 years in prison, according to the DOJ.
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