A former gynaecologist convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of patients will spend the next two months in jail as he awaits sentencing, a federal judge in New York City has ruled.
Key points:
- Robert Hadden worked at two New York hospitals before his abuse was revealed
- He could face decades in jail over federal convictions for enticing victims to cross state lines
- In a 2016 state case, he avoided jail time in a plea deal because the district attorney was not confident of a conviction
After hearing statements from some of the victims during the bail hearing, US District Court Judge Richard Berman tersely shot down defence attorneys seeking to allow the doctor, Robert Hadden, to remain free while awaiting an April sentencing hearing.
“I’m done and you’re done,” Judge Berman was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying.
Afterwards, Hadden’s attorneys filed papers appealing against the judge’s detention order.
Hadden worked at two Manhattan hospitals — Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital — until complaints about his attacks emerged a decade ago.
Hadden, 64, of Englewood, New Jersey, was convicted last week after less than a day of deliberations at a two-week trial in which nine former patients described how he sexually abused them during examinations, when they were most vulnerable.
One of his victims was Evelyn Yang, the wife of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who also ran unsuccessfully for New York City mayor.
Hadden’s conviction in federal court on four counts of enticing victims to cross state lines so he could sexually abuse them carries a potential penalty of decades in prison.
After the verdict, US attorney Damian Williams issued a statement calling Hadden “a predator in a white coat”.
At the time, the judge declined to send Hadden immediately to jail but suggested that he was “mystified” that Hadden had avoided prison.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the judge heard from nine women victimised by the doctor, as well as written statements from 43 other victims — all of whom urged the judge to immediately place Hadden in custody.
He had been under electronic monitoring and had been free on $US1 million ($1.4 million) bail.
Hadden’s attorneys argued that he was not a flight risk, but federal prosecutors urged the judge to consider the severity of his crimes.
For Hadden’s accusers, the federal case represents a second chance for a harsher punishment for the doctor.
In his 2016 plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Hadden surrendered his medical licence but was not required to serve any jail time.
The district attorney at the time, Cyrus Vance Jr, defended his decision.
Because a conviction was not assured, he argued, his office sought a plea deal to prevent Hadden from practising medicine and from victimising additional women.
AP
