An attorney for a former OB/GYN accused of sexual abuse at Columbia University said this week that prosecutors for Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office suppressed key evidence in the 2016 case, which led Vance to drop his demand for jail time.

According to a report by the New York Daily News, the information about the suppressed evidence was revealed during a hearing for Dr. Robert Hadden, who faces new charges after taking a plea deal that allowed him to avoid jail time. 

The OB/GYN is accused of the sexual abuse of dozens of patients between 1993 and 2012 — one of which was a minor Hadden had actually delivered himself, according to a Washington Post report.

Under the terms of his plea deal, Hadden was forced to give up his medical license and register as a sex offender, the Washington Post reported.

According to Hadden’s counsel, a Columbia University nurse had provided a statement that Hadden had not acted inappropriately with one of his accusers, the Daily News report said. The nurse apparently had been with Hadden because he was required to be accompanied during exams due to previous sexual abuse allegations.

The exculpatory statement was put in Hadden’s personnel file, but when Vance’s team turned the file over, the nurse’s statement was missing, according to Kirshner.

One of Hadden’s accusers, has been critical of Vance and told the Daily News she is skeptical of the new information.

“I don’t believe either Kirshner or the DA are telling the truth,” the victim said. “I think she’s trying to rewrite history.”

Hadden’s new charges involve six cases in which out-of-state patients traveled to Columbia for medical appointments, CBS News reported. The former OB/GYN has pleaded not guilty. However, inducing victims to cross state lines for the purposes of sexual abuse is a federal crime.

The 62-year-old Hadden, who denies all allegations except those he pleaded guilty to in 2016, has been released on $1 million bond in the federal case.

Meanwhile, Vance’s office is investigating Columbia University’s handling of the alleged sexual abuse incidents involving the former OB/GYN, CBS News reported.

Following Hadden’s Sept. 9 arrest, Vance released an emailed statement, according to CBS News, saying his office was launching the 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.”

An attorney who represents Hadden accusers who sued Columbia University in 2017, said last week a total 110 former patients have come forward with allegations.

“I also feel like we’re just scratching the surface of what prosecutors are going to uncover,” the attorney told CBS News.

Columbia maintains the school acted appropriately and contested the case on procedural grounds.

Hadden now faces six counts of enticing women to engage in illegal sex acts, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss announced, according to the Washington Post.

“Hadden acted as a predator in a white coat,” Strauss said.

Strauss said Hadden targeted many victims who had seen Hadden as their first OB/GYN.

“Many of Hadden’s victims did not know what to expect during an OB/GYN examination and were less likely to challenge Hadden when he engaged in sexually abusive behavior,” she said. “As a result, some of his victims immediately identified Hadden’s conduct as abusive but many didn’t know that his examinations were inappropriate, and so [they] returned to see him for years.”

Hadden’s new charges each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to the Washington Post.

One of Hadden’s accusers is Evelyn Yang, wife of former presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, who says Hadden assaulted her during a routine appointment while she was seven months pregnant, according to a CNN report.

“I just kind of froze, like a deer in headlights. Just frozen,” Evelyn Yang told CNN in January. “ … I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face as he was assaulting me. Just waiting for it to be over.”

Some of Hadden’s accusers spoke during his bond hearing. Three shared statements with assistant U.S. attorney Maurene Comey under the pseudonym Jane Doe.

Comey said the anonymous women should also be allowed to have their say in court, based on the precedent set in the Jeffrey Epstein sexual abuse case.

“I don’t think [Hadden] deserves any opportunity to prevent justice,” one woman said in a statement. “The court needs to ensure he has no chance to leave or hurt himself.”

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