Manhattan DA’s office investigating new assault allegations against former Columbia OB-GYN

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office says it’s investigating new allegations against a former Columbia University gynecologist — who lost his license in a plea deal four years ago but didn’t go to prison — after a slew of sexual assault accusations emerged in recent weeks.

The wave of new accusations against Robert Hadden gained momentum in January with Evelyn Yang — wife of former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang — who shared her story last month in a CNN exclusive interview.

The interview prompted dozens more women to come forward and triggered intense criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance for the perceived lightness of Hadden’s plea deal. The total number of accusers now stands around 70.

Yang said the move from Vance’s office is “a good start” but “doesn’t erase how they grossly mishandled all the initial cases,” including her own.

“The DA’s office should be investigating the hospital for allowing this doctor to prey on so many patients over decades, when they had indication from multiple sources that he was acting inappropriately,” she said in a statement.

“I believe there are still many women who haven’t been reached. The hospital has an obligation to these women and it’s outrageous that former patients who suffered assault would need to rely on news outlets to find out they were not alone,” she added. “The DA’s office should be requiring them to take responsible action.”

Hadden, formerly a doctor in Columbia University’s hospital system, was facing nine charges relating to sexual abuse allegations when he cut a deal with prosecutors in Vance’s office in 2016. He pleaded guilty to two counts: criminal sexual act in the third degree and forcible touching. Under the terms of the plea deal, he surrendered his medical license and served no prison time.

Nearly a week after CNN reported that the new allegations against Hadden were mounting Vance’s office released a statement Thursday evening announcing its decision to start a new probe.

“We admire the courage of the survivors who have recently shared their stories. Their voices will be heard and the abuse they suffered will be thoroughly investigated,” the office said.

Vance has assigned incoming Sex Crimes Unit Chief Coleen Balbert and senior prosecutor Mimi Mairs to lead the investigation of any new claims, the statement says, “and our prosecutors are in touch with a representative of a number of survivors.”

Since Yang’s interview, some 40 new Hadden accusers have brought their allegations to attorney Anthony DiPietro, who first filed a civil suit against Hadden and Columbia University in 2013. DiPietro says he plans to file a new suit on behalf of the new accusers, which would bring the total number of plaintiffs to about 70. Two of the plaintiffs were minors — ages 15 and 16 — at the time of the alleged abuse, he said.

On Friday, DiPietro said while he’s glad the DA has launched a probe, he believes it’s not enough.

“Columbia University has been hiding evidence of Hadden’s sexual abuse for the past 25 years,” he said. “In order to make sure this doesn’t happen again, I’ve called for the DA to open a criminal investigation into Columbia University for the role it’s played in enabling, aiding, abetting, and covering up two decades of Hadden’s sexual exploitation and abuse.”

Responding to the latest development, Columbia issued a statement saying, “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our patients. We condemn sexual misconduct in any form and will cooperate fully with any request for information from the District Attorney’s office related to Robert Hadden.”

Columbia has denied in legal filings the allegations in the civil that the university did nothing to stop the “serial sexual abuse” on “countless occasions.”

The 61-year-old Hadden has denied the assault allegations in the civil case, aside from the two counts to which he pleaded guilty. CNN reached out to Hadden and his criminal attorney, Isabelle A. Kirshner. She responded saying she no longer represents him.

Meanwhile, some accusers have lambasted Vance for the plea deal with Hadden, saying it fits a pattern of lenience towards white men of power and privilege on the part of the DA, who also handled cases against Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein.

Among those is Marissa Hoechstetter, who has called on Vance to resign. She was unmoved by the DA’s announcement, calling it “image rehab ahead of the Weinstein verdict.”

“Vance and his office simply do not have the public trust or credibility to conduct an investigation, and we call on Governor Cuomo and Attorney General James to immediately appoint a special prosecutor in his place,” she said Friday in a statement.

“The District Attorney has had eight years to serve justice in the Hadden case, but only now seems interested because of continued national scrutiny and a contested DA race,” she added. “Nearly 70 former patients have come forward to report sexual abuse and everyone deserves a fair investigation into Robert Hadden, Columbia University, and the District Attorney’s decision to privilege powerful and wealthy abusers over justice for survivors.”

Yang was pregnant with her first child in 2012 when she found Hadden, who came with a good reputation and worked at the world-renowned medical facilities at Columbia University.

Though Yang initially didn’t see red flags, over the months Hadden started asking her inappropriate, medically unnecessary questions about sexual activity with her husband.

One day, when she was seven months pregnant, as she was getting dressed and preparing to leave, he “kind of made up an excuse. He said something about, ‘I think you might need a C-section,’ and he proceeded to grab me over to him and undress me and examine me internally, ungloved,” she recalled.

After Yang’s story aired, other women began calling DiPietro’s office to share their stories and join his civil suit. Several women also went public with their stories interviews with CNN, including Emilia Heckman, had already been a part of the ongoing civil suit as a Jane Doe.

“I think the more victims come out and show their face — ‘Hey I’m a real person, I’m not just Jane Doe,’ you know, maybe the DA will listen to that,” Heckman told CNN. “It’s just like, we’re real people, we’re not just a piece of paper.”

DiPietro said the DA’s office hasn’t responded to his request for Vance to meet with DiPietro and his clients, though he said he was contact by an assistant DA who offered to meet with them.

“Based upon how poorly this criminal investigation was previously handled, and the way the DA’s Office inexplicably gave full access and transparency to Columbia University and its lawyers during the initial action, we are continuing to explore all other options including the appointment of a special prosecutor, as well as turning these cases over to a prosecutor in another jurisdiction,” he said.

Earlier this month, Columbia University released a statement in response to the spate of new allegations: “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our patients. We are committed to treating every patient with respect and delivering care to the highest professional standards. We condemn sexual misconduct in any form and extend our deepest apologies to the women whose trust Robert Hadden violated and to their families.”

The DA’s statement made an appeal for victims to reach out: “We strongly encourage all survivors of Robert Hadden’s predatory conduct to call us at 212-335-9373.”

This story has been updated with additional details about the case and statements from victims.