NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — He’s already lost his medical license, been publicly disgraced and barely avoided jail.
Now, 62-year old Robert Hadden is accused in an indictment returned by a New York grand jury of being a sexual predator who over a span of two decades preyed on dozens of his patients.
He’s charged with abusing six victims, including one minor, but there’s little question prosecutors believe there are many more.
Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, put it bluntly, saying of the once respected and sought-after Manhattan gynecologist, “Hadden acted as a predator in a white coat.”
He was arrested at his home in New Jersey Wednesday morning.
At least 78 women now claim they were sexually assaulted by Hadden over two decades, including the wife of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
Evelyn Yang says he abused her during a 2012 exam when she was 7 months pregnant.
In 2016, Hadden made a plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office that spared him jail time. That deal is coming under renewed criticism now, with new calls for D.A. Cy Vance to resign.
The FBI says Robert Hadden used his status along with practices at both Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Medical Center to lure patients from out of state, employing classic grooming techniques. He would seek out young victims, they allege, first earning their trust, then betraying it with progressively worsening acts of abuse.
After making sure no one else was in the exam room, according to the indictment, examinations became “excessively long and sexualized.”
Prosecutors also allege Hadden targeted victims who “would not know what to expect during their exams.”
In one particularly shocking case, investigators say he abused a young girl he had personally delivered as a baby.
The graphic federal indictment suggests the strong possibility of many more victims than the six cases in which Hadden is charged. The FBI said its investigation is open and ongoing, as Special Agent Bill Sweeney appealed for more information.
“If you thought something was amiss but just weren’t sure,” he said, “If you stayed silent, then now is the time to step forward and speak up.”
By late Wednesday night, sources told NewsNation the former doctor was being processed for release on bond.
