Thread by @biancafortis

In 2012, Laurie Kanyok was sexually assaulted by her OB/GYN, Dr. Robert Hadden of @Columbia U. She called 911 and Hadden was arrested at his office, but was released from custody & returned to work 4 days later. He allegedly assaulted more patients in the following 5 wks.

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@Columbia 2/ In this letter – cc’d to the head of his department, the dean of the med school & the president of @nyphospital – Hadden is advised he may return to work so long as a chaperone is in the room with him when seeing patients.

documentcloud.org/documents/2394…

@Columbia @nyphospital 3/ In April 2013, Columbia sent a mass mailing to patients, advising them that Hadden had “closed his private practice” at Columbia. But the letter failed to say why.

documentcloud.org/documents/2394…

@Columbia @nyphospital 4/ 245 former patients say Hadden sexually abused them. That # continues to rise.

NEW for @ProPublica + @NYMag: @LJBeil and I found that during his 25-year career, several patients had tried to report Hadden in both subtle and obvious ways.

propublica.org/article/columb…

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil 5/ After more patients came forward, the Manhattan DA’s Office pursued the case. In 2016, Hadden pleaded guilty to one felony and a misdemeanor. He lost his medical license and registered as a sex offender, but spent no time in jail.

documentcloud.org/documents/2396…

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil 6/ Kanyok thought a civil suit might provide a sense of justice, so she filed one against Columbia.

In 2018, she agreed to settle with the university, but had to sign a strict confidentiality agreement.

She received $475,000 in exchange for her silence.

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil 7/ After @EvelynYang revealed on @CNN that Hadden had assaulted her, more patients came forward. In 2020 the U.S. DOJ got involved, indicting Hadden for enticement – inducing his victims to cross state lines for illegal sexual activity. He was convicted on all 4 counts he faced.

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil @EvelynYang @CNN 8/ Kanyok testified during the trial. When asked what it was like to navigate the justice system, she said, “It’s been a long time. My daughter is 10 years old. I called the police when she was *6 weeks* old.”

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil @EvelynYang @CNN 9/ For over a year, we tried to get Columbia admins to talk to us directly. They refused. When we visited the home of Hadden’s former supervisor – who hasn’t worked for Columbia in 6 years – we heard back from the university’s spokesperson.

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil @EvelynYang @CNN 10/ They did send us two statements. Here’s an excerpt, and you can read the full statement at this link:
documentcloud.org/documents/2394…

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil @EvelynYang @CNN 11/ Columbia has agreed to pay $236.5m to 226 women to settle a number of civil suits. But it has otherwise never acknowledged its responsibility in letting Hadden practice despite warnings. It also hasn’t notified patients that their former doctor is a sexual predator.

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil @EvelynYang @CNN 11/ Read the full story here:

propublica.org/article/columb…

@Columbia @nyphospital @propublica @NYMag @LJBeil @EvelynYang @CNN 12/ Do you have information about Columbia or NewYork-Presbyterian that we should know? Bianca Fortis can be reached by email at [e-mail] and by Signal or WhatsApp at 347-570-0783. @LJBeil can be reached by email at [e-mail].