NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 An ex-gynecologist convicted of sexually abusing hundreds of patients was ordered to spend the next two months in jail as he awaits sentencing, a federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday.
After hearing statements from some of the victims during the bail hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman tersely shot down defense attorneys seeking to allow the doctor, Robert Hadden, to remain free while awaiting an April sentencing hearing.
鈥淚鈥檓 done, and you鈥檙e done,鈥 Berman was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying. Afterward, Hadden鈥檚 attorneys filed papers appealing the judge鈥檚 detention order.
Hadden had worked at 鈥 Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital 鈥 until complaints about his attacks shut down his career a decade ago.
Hadden, 64, of Englewood, New Jersey, after less than a day of deliberations at a two-week trial, in which nine former patients described how he sexually abused them during examinations, when they were most vulnerable.
One of his victims was Evelyn Yang, the wife of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who also ran unsuccessfully for New York City mayor.
Hadden's conviction in federal court on four counts of enticing victims to cross state lines so he could sexually abuse them carries a potential penalty of decades in prison.
After the verdict, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams issued a statement calling Hadden 鈥渁 predator in a white coat.鈥
At the time, the judge declined to to send Hadden immediately to jail, but suggested that he was 鈥渕ystified鈥 that Hadden had avoided prison.
At Wednesday鈥檚 hearing, the judge heard from nine women victimized by the doctor, as well as written statements from 43 other victims 鈥 all of whom urged the judge to immediately remand Hadden into custody.
He had been under electronic monitoring and had been free on $1 million bail.
Hadden鈥檚 attorneys argued that he was not a flight risk, but federal prosecutors urged the judge to consider the severity of his crimes.
For Hadden鈥檚 accusers, the federal case represents a second chance for a harsher punishment for the doctor. In his 2016 plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney鈥檚 Office, Hadden surrendered his medical license but wasn鈥檛 required to serve any jail time.
The district attorney at the time, Cyrus Vance Jr., defended his decision. Because a conviction wasn鈥檛 assured, he argued, his office sought a plea deal to prevent Hadden from practicing medicine and from victimizing additional women.
