Ex-NYC doctor who abused 100s of women jailed: 'A predator in a white coat'
FILE - Robert Hadden, center, leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. A federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday, Feb. 1, that Hadden, an ex-gynecologist convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of patients, was ordered
NEW YORK - An ex-gynecologist convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of patients was ordered to spend the next two months in jail as he awaits sentencing, a federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday.
After hearing statements from some of the victims during the bail hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman tersely shot down defense attorneys seeking to allow the doctor, Robert Hadden, to remain free while awaiting an April sentencing hearing.
"I’m done, and you’re done," Berman was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying. Afterward, Hadden’s attorneys filed papers appealing the judge’s detention order.
Robert Hadden is seen in Manhattan Supreme Court on Feb. 23, 2016 in New York. (Alec Tabak/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Hadden had worked at two prestigious Manhattan hospitals, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, until complaints about his attacks shut down his career 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, U.S. 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.
Dr. Robert Hadden appears in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday, September 4, 2014. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
At Wednesday’s hearing, the judge heard from nine women victimized by the doctor, as well as written statements from 43 other victims — all of whom urged the judge to immediately remand Hadden into custody.
He had been under electronic monitoring and had been free on $1 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.
Dr. Robert Hadden appears in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday, November 6, 2014. (Photo by Jefferson Siegel/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
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 license but wasn’t required to serve any jail time.
The district attorney at the time, Cyrus Vance Jr., defended his decision. Because a conviction wasn’t assured, he argued, his office sought a plea deal to prevent Hadden from practicing medicine and from victimizing additional women.
Associated Press wire services helped contribute to this report.