By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-21 01:12:26 | Updated at 2024-11-21 09:58:59
8 hours ago
Serial sex abuser and disgraced urologist Darius Paduch was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for sexually assaulting male patients — including six minors — for more than a decade at some of the city’s most prestigious hospitals.
Paduch, 57, was convicted on May 8 of six counts of inducing a person to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity and five counts of inducing a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity for the years of abuse.
He was handed a life sentence by Judge Ronnie Abrams Wednesday, according to the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office.
“Darius Paduch was a sexual predator who preyed on patients seeking treatment for sensitive medical issues,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
“He used his position as a renowned urologist at prestigious hospitals to sexually assault vulnerable patients, including children, to gratify his own sexual desires.”
The creep doctor abused dozens of patients under the guise of medical treatments backed by the prestige of his employers — including Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University and Northwell Health Systems — to cause his victims to doubt the abuse and often return to his office for more, prosecutors said.
A total of 310 victims have come forward with allegations and lawsuits against Paduch — breaking the horrific record of the most male victims abused by a single predator, according to a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs, Anthony DiPietro.
The urologist’s abuse goes back to 2007 and continued through at least 2019 at several different hospitals, according to evidence presented during his two-week grand jury trial.
Some of the victims were abused by the doctor — who specialized in infertility and male reproductive health — for several years during medical appointments.
Paduch would masturbate his patients, order them to masturbate while he watched, digitally penetrate them without gloves and press his own erect penis against their bodies during the medical appointments, prosecutors said.
He also used sex toys on his victims, feds said.
Paduch — who’s been behind bars since his April 2023 arrest — claimed to his victims that the abuse was part of medically necessary exams.
“Paduch’s abuse was perverse and pervasive, spanning over a decade and victimizing patients both inside and outside of hospital rooms. He repeatedly violated his oath to ‘Do No Harm,'” Williams said.
“Today’s sentence demonstrates that medical providers who exploit their position of trust to commit sexual abuse will be held accountable for their conduct.”
The disgraced doc is also facing multiple civil lawsuits from a total of 310 former patients and victims.
The lawsuits detail further disturbing patterns of alleged abuse — including inflicting pain on his patients by skipping anesthesia during unnecessary procedures and performing penile enlargements that led to disfigurement.
Lawyers representing the victims applauded the sentencing on Wednesday.
“Today’s life sentence for Darius Paduch marks a crucial victory for justice and accountability,” DiPietro said. “As a doctor, Darius Paduch exploited his position of trust to prey on vulnerable individuals, and now he will face the consequences of his horrific actions.”
“While no sentence can ever undo the pain and suffering endured by each and every survivor who experienced abuse at the hands of Dr. Darius Paduch, the sentencing closes an important chapter for these survivors,” said Mallory Allen, who represents 140 former patients.
“For nearly 20 years, patients who trusted him for their medical care and treatment were instead brutalized by his degrading, sexually violating, and medically unfounded acts while the supposedly prestigious medical institutions where we worked continued to look the other way.
“The survivors’ strength, particularly those who were brave enough to testify in the criminal trial, has been incredible and ensured that Dr. Paduch is held accountable. His sentence today reaffirms that heinous sexual abuse will not be overlooked.”
Both lawyers said they planned to hold the institutions that allowed Paduch’s abuse to go unchecked in civil court.
“But this is just the beginning. Our focus is now on holding the institutions accountable for covering up and enabling Paduch’s exploitation of patients under the guise of medical care,” DiPietro added.
“Every patient who was exposed to this known predator deserves justice, and we will fight until it’s served.”
If you have been sexually assaulted and live in New York, you can call 1-800-942-6906 for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the state, you can dial the 24/7 National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
