Robert Hadden's name became well-known after the wife of Andrew Yang, one of the candidates in the Democratic Party's race for Presidential nomination, accused him of sexually assaulting her. Hadden has now been arrested on charges of sexual abuse of six women whom he was supposed to be treating as a gynecologist.
The indictment of Hadden states that he abused his victims "under the guise of conducting purported gynecological and obstetric examinations." These incidents of abuse are spread over a period of two decades and involved the accused doctor enticing his victims to travel from other states to his clinic in New York City for seeking treatment.
As of now, there are six clear cases of women who have suffered abuse at the hands of Hadden. However, prosecutors are certain that in a period extending from 1993 to 2012, the count of his victims was in dozens. Shockingly, his victims included minors, among them one girl whom he himself had delivered.
Shocking revelations
The pandora's box of information about Hadden's misdeeds opened after Evelyn Yang, wife of Andrew Yang, revealed in an interview with CNN earlier this year that the gynecologist had abused her. Following this, many other women came forward and said they had experienced similar maltreatment.
Apparently, the disgraced doctor would tell his victims that they needed medical attention and required testing. In the name of tests, he would assault his victims sexually and would try to pass it off as a normal procedure. Apart from inviting women for tests, he also used his ability to procure birth control techniques to make the unfortunate girls visit his clinic repeatedly.
Allegations in the past
As shocking as these revelations are, they don't come out of the blue. In 2014 also, Hadden faced charges of sexually assaulting six women. However, the doctor escaped punishment by entering a plea deal, as per which he accepted his guilt in two counts of sexual offenses of the third degree. However, due to the deal, his status as a sex offender was reduced to the lowest tier. This also prevented his name from entering the online sex offender registry of New York.
But now, it seems his misdeeds will finally be punished adequately. The District Attorney of Manhattan, Cyrus Vance, who entered into this plea deal in 2016 has also faced accusations of mishandling the case. There have even been protests against the DA. With the case now in the hands of federal prosecutors, the victims of Hadden will finally, hopefully, get a fair trial.
