Former Columbia University OB-GYN Robert Hadden convicted of sexual abuse
Written by ABC Audio. All rights reserved. on January 25, 2023
(NEW YORK) — Robert Hadden, a former Columbia University gynecologist, was convicted Tuesday on four counts for sexually abusing women during a Manhattan, New York federal court trial.
Hadden, 64, of Tenafly, New Jersey, was accused of sexually abusing four patients, including a minor and two pregnant patients. He had pleaded not guilty to six counts of enticing and inducing victims to his medical offices and subjecting them to unlawful sexual abuse.
Hadden was convicted on Tuesday of four counts of enticing and inducing individuals to travel interstate to engage in illegal sexual activity, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for April 25.
Federal prosecutors alleged Hadden also assaulted “dozens of female patients, including multiple minors” between 1993 and 2012. During opening arguments, prosecutors said the abuse occurred while Hadden was “pretending” to medically examine his patients’ “most private parts.”
“Robert Hadden was a predator in a white coat,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement following Hadden’s conviction. “For years, he cruelly lured women who sought professional medical care to his offices in order to gratify himself. Hadden’s victims trusted him as a physician, only to instead become victims of his heinous predilection. We thank and commend the brave women who came forward to tell their stories, many of whom testified at trial, to end his years-long cycle of abuse.”
Hadden pleaded guilty in state court seven years ago to abusing two women as part of a deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian have previously agreed to settlements totaling more than $236 million with nearly 230 of Hadden’s former patients.
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