By: Ellen Cans
On Monday, the trial of disgraced doctor Robert Hadden begins in Manhattan Federal court.
As reported by the NY Post, the former-Upper East Side gynecologist has been hit by federal prosecutors with charges of enticing a girl under 18 and seven other women to travel to New York State so he could “engage or attempt to engage in unlawful sexual activity” with them from the 1990s up until 2012. Hadden had previously been charged by state prosecutors for abusing six patients, but he had eluded prison time in that case after securing a highly controversial no-jail plea deal.
Evelyn Yang, the wife of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, told the Post she’s hopeful this time Hadden will be held accountable for the alleged abuse of dozens of women and girls over more than two decades. “I’m generally grateful that a fuller extent of his crimes will be revealed and hopeful that he will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” she said. “I think the federal prosecutors have a lot of information that the DA didn’t have.”
Hadden was an OBGYN at Columbia University and its affiliated hospitals and is accused of allegedly sexually abusing patients. The new indictment claims that Hadden, 64, knew that his minor victim was underage because he was the doc to deliver her when she was born.
“I can’t say I’m surprised given what I’ve personally experienced with him, but it’s still sickening,” Mrs. Yang said. In 2020, Yang had given an interview with CNN, accusing Hadden of sexually abusing her during her first pregnancy in 2012. She alleges he groomed her with inappropriate questions about her sex life at the doctor’s visit, and then clearly assaulted her in another visit. “I was in the exam room, and I was dressed and ready to go. Then, at the last minute, he kind of made up an excuse. He said something about, ‘I think you might need a C-section,’” she told CNN. “And he proceeded to grab me over to him and undress me and examine me internally, ungloved. I knew it was wrong. I knew I was being assaulted,” she said.
Last week, Yang made a statement to the Post, calling on Columbia University to reach out to all the women previously treated by Hadden. “I believe there may be hundreds more women who were affected by him, and if they aren’t following the news, still have no idea that he’s a sexual predator,” she said. “Every woman exposed to him deserves to know and examine their own experiences and medical records for abuse. Justice can’t really be served until all his patients know.” As per the Post, in Dec. 2021, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital reached a $71.5 million settlement with nearly 80 former patients who accused Dr. Hadden of molesting them.
Hadden faces more than 100 years in prison if convicted of all counts. Hadden, who has not practiced medicine since 2012, has pleaded not guilty.
