- Darius Paduch, a former urologist, faces allegations of sexually assaulting men and boys in a new lawsuit.
- Prosecutor Anthony T. DiPietro describes Paduch as a “serious sexual predator”.
- The lawsuit also accuses Paduch’s workplaces of covering up his behavior.
This article contains descriptions of sexual assault.
In a recent lawsuit filed in New York, Darius Paduch, a former urologist, is facing allegations of sexually molesting minors and men. The lawsuit claims that Paduch performed unnecessary examinations and touched their genitals under the guise of medical necessity over several years. The lawsuit also accuses his workplaces of being aware of his actions and covering them up.
The lawsuit, which was filed on September 26 in the New York Supreme Court, adds to Paduch’s existing indictment by a federal grand jury in April.
The lawsuit currently has 58 plaintiffs, but according to Prosecutor Anthony T. DiPietro, more individuals have already come forward to share their experiences with Paduch.
Along with Paduch, multiple medical centers, including NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, are named as defendants in the suit.
Throughout his career, Paduch worked at various medical centers in the area. He was employed at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center from the early 2000s before later moving to Northwell Health in 2019, as stated in the lawsuit.
The suit alleges that Paduch engaged in abusive and grooming behaviors, such as inquiring about patients’ pornography and masturbatory habits, performing genitalia exams without gloves, instructing patients to masturbate in front of him, masturbating patients himself, and fondling and groping patients. The suit also claims that Paduch conducted unnecessary surgeries under the pretext of treating erectile dysfunction.
Furthermore, the suit asserts that multiple complaints were made verbally and formally to Paduch’s superiors at his workplaces, but were either ignored or covered up. Despite being “asked to leave” his first workplace, his patients were not informed of his departure after multiple sexual abuse complaints were made, according to the suit.
Prosecutor Anthony T. DiPietro, who specializes in patient safety and medical malpractice cases, describes Paduch as a “serial sexual predator” who victimized boys and men across multiple medical practices.
DiPietro also draws parallels to the case of Robert Hadden, a former gynecologist who received a 20-year prison sentence for sexually abusing numerous patients. DiPietro mentions that Hadden was also associated with Columbia University medical centers and engaged in similar acts of fraud, exploitation, and grooming against girls and women.
DiPietro expresses his intention to file more cases as additional victims come forward.
Many of DiPietro’s clients are calling for policy changes at the implicated hospitals to protect current and future patients from harm.
“If it weren’t for our clients coming forward and holding them accountable, these predators would still be there doing it to people,” DiPietro said. “If there’s any credit that is due in these cases, it’s to every single one of our clients who’s been willing to step up and help get this done.”
A spokesperson for Weill Cornell Medicine condemns the behavior described in the lawsuits as “extremely disturbing” and emphasizes their commitment to cooperating fully with law enforcement and maintaining high professional and ethical standards.
The Long Island Jewish Medical Center, which is part of the larger Northwell Health network, also pledges to take allegations against former employee Paduch seriously and cooperate with authorities conducting investigations.
Paduch and the medical centers associated with Columbia University have not responded to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
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