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Prosecutor: Former Massachusetts pediatrician charged with sexual abuse of 15 patients

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A Plymouth County grand jury has indicted a retired Massachusetts pediatrician on nine counts of rape of a child by force and eight counts of indecent assault on a child under 14. Prosecutors said Dr. Richard Kauff, 68, of Norwell, is accused of sexually abusing 15 patients in his care as a pediatrician at South Shore Medical Center, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said Friday. Kauff is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court at a later date. He is free on $50,000 bail and has been ordered to stay away and have no contact with the victims or South Shore Medical Center facilities in Norwell and Kingston. Prosecutors said Kauff has worked as a pediatrician since 1983 and was most recently associated with South Shore Medical Center in Norwell. Kauff saw patients at the Kingston and Norwell practices affiliated with South Shore Medical Center until his retirement in 2022. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said its investigation into Kauff began on Oct. 4, 2023, when an anonymous person posted in a local Facebook group that they believed they had been sexually assaulted during an annual physical. Investigators said others responded to the Facebook post, urging the victim to report the incident to Norwell police. The following day, another victim reported a similar incident to Norwell police, prosecutors said. Both victims claimed the perpetrator was Kauff. After police filed charges against Kauff in Hingham District Court, more than three dozen people came forward reporting similar experiences with Kauff. “A grand jury investigation was conducted to identify additional alleged victims and to determine the feasibility of prosecuting based on analysis of the statute of limitations and other legal issues,” the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said. “After months of investigation, the grand jury issued seventeen indictments against fifteen different victims over a 23-year period.” Kauff has since surrendered his medical license.

HINGHAM, Massachusetts —

A Plymouth County grand jury indicted a retired Massachusetts pediatrician on nine counts of rape of a child by force and eight counts of indecent touching and battery of a child under the age of 14.

Prosecutors said Dr. Richard Kauff, 68, of Norwell, is accused of sexually abusing 15 patients in his care as a pediatrician at South Shore Medical Center, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said Friday.

Kauff is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court at a later date. He remains free on $50,000 bail and has been ordered to stay away from and have no contact with the victims or the South Shore Medical Center facilities in Norwell and Kingston.

According to prosecutors, Kauff worked as a pediatrician since 1983 and was most recently associated with South Shore Medical Center in Norwell. Kauff treated patients at South Shore Medical Center’s affiliated practices in Kingston and Norwell until his retirement in 2022.

The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said its investigation into Kauff began on Oct. 4, 2023, when an anonymous person posted in a local Facebook group that they believed they had been sexually assaulted during an annual physical. Investigators said others responded to the Facebook post, urging the victim to report the incident to Norwell police.

The next day, another victim reported a similar incident to Norwell police, prosecutors said. Both victims claimed the perpetrator was Kauff.

After police filed charges against Kauff in Hingham District Court, more than three dozen people came forward to report similar experiences with Kauff.

“A grand jury investigation was conducted to identify additional alleged victims and to explore the possibility of prosecution based on analysis of statutes of limitations and other legal issues,” the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said. “After several months of investigation, the grand jury issued seventeen indictments against fifteen different victims spanning a 23-year period.”

Kauff has since surrendered his license.

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