Columbia University is being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for its involvement with Dr. Robert Hadden, the New York gynecologist who is the subject of sexual assault claims brought by numerous patients, CBS News is reporting.

Hadden was arrested and hauled into federal court earlier this month where he was charged in relation to six cases of sexual misconduct that allegedly took place at medical offices connected to the prestigious Columbia University in New York City over 20 years. He has denied the charges and entered a not guilty plea.

Hadden’s arrest marked the second time the doctor was taken into custody and charged with crimes related to an abuse of patients. He struck a plea deal with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office in 2016 that resulted in a surrender of his medical license, but no jail time.

Vance’s office issued a statement after the latest arrest saying it is now conducting an “intensely active” investigation “which examines potential failures by Dr. Hadden’s employer and hospital to disclose additional incidents of abuse to our office and to regulators when required.”

CBS News reported on Sept. 11 that “a source with knowledge of the investigation” said Vance was referring to Columbia University.

After his arrest and arraignment, Hadden was released on a $1 million bond.

First Arrest Ended in Light Sentence

Public criticism of the plea deal Vance struck with Hadden in 2016 has been harsh, and renewed as additional women have come forward this year with sexual assault and abuse allegations against the former doctor.

Court documents show prosecutors investigated claims against Hadden by 19 former patients and witnesses that resulted in Hadden pleading guilty to felony counts of a criminal sex act in the third degree and forcible touching. Hadden’s sex offender status was set at the lowest level, leaving him off New York State’s online sex offender registry, and he avoided having to go to jail.

In January of this year, two of Hadden’s original accusers held a press conference outside city hall in Manhattan and called for Vance’s resignation over the matter.

“When I reported the crimes against me to the [district attorney] in 2015, I was one of more than 20 women who’d come forward about the same man,” one of the women was quoted by CNN as saying. “Rather than respect me and pursue justice, the DA chose to offer Hadden a plea some have called the deal of the century.”

Allegations of Sexual Misconduct Prompt Class Action Lawsuit and Arrest

A group of Hadden’s former patients filed a class action lawsuit against him and Columbia University in 2018 saying the doctor “sexually exploited, abused, harassed and molested” the plaintiffs – two of whom were minors at the time, CNN reported. Columbia knew about Hadden’s sexual misconduct, but covered it up for years, the class action claims.

According to the CBS News report, plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit claim the university “actively and deliberately — and inexplicably — concealed Robert Hadden’s sexual abuse for decades, and continued to grant Robert Hadden unfettered access to vulnerable, unsuspecting, pregnant and non-pregnant female patients.”

The class action lawsuit against Hadden and Columbia University is ongoing.

Hadden Faces More Accusers in 2020

Shortly before Hadden’s original accusers held their press conference attacking Vance’s handling of the first case, several new accusers stepped forward – one very publicly. Evelyn Yang , wife of then Democratic candidate for president Andrew Yang, gave an on-camera interview to CNN recounting her experience with the doctor. She said he sexually abused her while she was pregnant and under his care in 2012.

After her interview, even more accusers came forward to investigators and the lawyers involved in the class action lawsuit.

In announcing Hadden’s recent sexual misconduct arrest, Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss issued a statement alleging that “between 1993 and 2012, Robert Hadden sexually abused dozens of women and girls during Ob/Gyn examinations at his medical offices . . . [and] used the examinations of his victims for his own sexual gratification, abusing dozens of victims over a nearly 20-year period, including multiple minor girls, one of whom Hadden had himself delivered.”

At the press conference held announcing Hadden’s federal arrest – on six counts of enticing and inducing individuals to travel interstate to engage in illegal sexual activity – Strauss referred to the doctor as a “predator in a white coat.”

The patients he is accused of abusing traveled from out of state for their appointments with Hadden, National Public Radio reported. Each count he is charged with carries a penalty of as much as 20 years in prison.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.