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Former Columbia University gynecologist Robert Hadden remanded to federal detention
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Feb 1, 2023
Modified Feb 1, 2023
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By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Feb 1, 2023
Modified Feb 1, 2023
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Robert Hadden, the former New York gynecologist convicted of federal sex crimes after assaulting hundreds of women in his care, was remanded into federal custody on Wednesday.
His lawyers had argued that he could remain outside of a detention facility until his sentencing, which is scheduled for April 25. In court filings, they argued that he posed a low risk of fleeing — and that his last known sexual crimes were committed more than a decade ago.
The judge, however, sided with the victims and federal prosecutors.
Wednesday’s bail hearing in the Hadden case came a week after a jury voted to convict Hadden of federal sex crimes.
His case is one of the biggest sex crime cases to emerge in the last few years. More than 200 women have come forward to say Hadden abused them during examinations, including Evelyn Yang, wife to former presidential and mayoral candidate Andrew Yang.
Hadden worked as a gynecologist at Columbia University’s affiliated hospitals until 2012.
At his bail hearing on Wednesday, nine of Hadden’s victims spoke.
“He has proven he has an illness he cannot control,” said Emily Anderson, the first victim to speak.
“I can’t help but be struck by the fact that Dr. Hadden was able to abuse so many women for so long because he worked for Columbia,” said another witness, Katia Herman.
Federal prosecutors said accounts of Hadden’s abuse date back to at least 1993.
They mounted vigorous arguments for keeping Hadden in federal custody — saying he has not proven that he is not a flight risk or a threat to the community, or to himself ahead of a final judgment.
“The defendant was a sophisticated sexual predator who employed various strategies to carry out his crimes,” federal prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
On Wednesday, at the conclusion of his hearing, Hadden looked at his wife as court marshals handcuffed him and escorted him out.
“We hope that Robert Hadden’s conviction will help heal the pain and suffering caused by his abhorrent misconduct," a spokesperson for Columbia University said in a statement. "We cooperated fully with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in its investigation and welcome the court’s decision to remand him in custody pending sentencing. We commend all the women who have come forward, especially those who shared their experiences so publicly during these judicial proceedings, and are profoundly sorry for the trauma women endured as a result of Hadden’s abuse.”
This story has been updated to include comment from Columbia University.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of a witness. Her name is Katia Herman.
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