‘Sadistic’ NYC doctor convicted of rampant sexual abuse of patients

A former New York urologist faces life in prison after a federal jury found him guilty Wednesday of sexually abusing eight patients, including six who were minors at the time.

“Darius A. Paduch used his position of trust as a physician for his own perverse gratification,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement issued after the unanimous verdict. “For years, patients, many of them children, seeking urgent medical care left his practice as victims.”

An attorney for Paduch told Newsday that they “definitely” planned to appeal and declined further comment.

Paduch was indicted last April by a federal grand jury, which indicted him on four felony counts related to soliciting a victim to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The Justice Department said at the time that investigators found that Paduch disguised his abuse as “medically necessary and appropriate” treatment.

The number of known victims grew quickly after his arrest, and more than 130 former patients came forward to file civil lawsuits against the disgraced doctor under New York’s Adult Survivors Act. The civil proceedings are still ongoing.

Mallory Allen, a partner at Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC, a law firm representing the survivors, told The Daily Beast in a statement that justice was served Wednesday.

“For nearly twenty years, patients who trusted him with their medical care and treatment were instead brutalized by his degrading, sexually abusive and medically unfounded actions, while the hospitals where he worked looked the other way,” Allen said.

“The jury verdict in the criminal case confirms that these heinous acts will not be overlooked, and the pending civil cases will ensure that the institutions that have repeatedly put profits before their patients face consequences for their indifference in ignoring years of complaints .”

Under the guise of performing urological exams between 2015 and 2019, Paduch raped and molested his patients, abusing them with ungloved fingers and “other devices,” masturbating them and showing them pornography, according to Justice Department prosecutors.

A civil lawsuit that listed at least 58 victims when filed last September but claimed there were “thousands more” stemming from Paduch’s 19-year career at New York hospitals also accused the doctor of Forcing patients to undergo surgery without anesthesia and attempting to get them addicted to opioids.

“Paduch acted as a disgusting, sadistic and perverted sexual predator,” the complaint states.

The bulk of the allegations stem from Paduch’s time at two hospitals: NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and Northwell Health. Both were accused by the plaintiffs of having looked the other way as Paduch’s abuse was allowed to continue unabated. After Paduch’s arrest, both entities cut ties with him and said they would cooperate with any investigation.

On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Northwell said in a statement to The Daily Beast that they were “deeply disturbed by the information that emerged during the course of the criminal case against Dr. Paduch came to light” and pointed out that he had not been associated with the organization hospital “for some time”.

“Northwell has acted in connection with the prosecution of Dr. “We have cooperated fully with the authorities,” she continued, declining to comment further given the ongoing criminal and pending civil proceedings.

When reached for comment, a Weill Cornell spokeswoman provided a statement to The Daily Beast that corresponded to Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack and Dr. Robert A. Harrington, Cornell’s provost of medical affairs and dean of the medical school.

“The acts described during this trial are deeply disturbing and we are heartbroken for these survivors,” they said. “Patient safety has always been our top priority, and it is our duty to create and maintain an environment that promotes dignity and respect for all who entrust us with their care.”

Pollack and Harrington said university leadership has “implemented improvements to our policies and training requirements” and launched new patient safety programs “to prevent such abhorrent behavior in the future.”

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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