NYC urologist accused of sexually abusing patients

A prominent New York City urologist accused of sexually abusing his patients was arrested on federal charges, according to an unsealed indictment in Manhattan Federal court on Monday.

Darius Paduch used his position as a urologist at prominent medical institutions to repeatedly sexually abuse patients while performing medical exams, and convince them that the abuse was medically necessary, federal prosecutors said. Both victims named in the indictment were minors, and the alleged abuse outlined in the indictment happened between 2015 and 2019.

“As alleged, for years, Darius Paduch abused the trust of patients, including minors, who saw him for sensitive medical problems,” said Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Paduch took advantage of his victims for his own deviant satisfaction. Thanks to this morning’s arrest, Paduch’s abuse of his patients ends today.”

Federal prosecutors alleged that Paduch frequently touched victims’ genitalia without warning while pressing himself against them. He also made them watch pornography, and spoke to victims about their sexual activity, physical appearance and penis size, officials said.

“Such discussions had no bearing on medical treatment… In the same manner, volunteered intimate information about his own sexual activity, sexual history, and sexual orientation, which also had no bearing on medical treatment or any other legitimate medical purpose,” federal prosecutors said.

Paduch's attorney was not immediately available for comment, but according to the DOJ he pleaded not guilty and was detained.

Separately, Paduch is also being sued by attorneys at Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC on behalf of more than 20 victims, including those mentioned in the federal indictment. The law firm has filed seven suits against the doctor, as well as the institutions he worked at, New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and Northwell Health.

New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center said it had engaged outside counsel to conduct an internal investigation, took the allegations "very seriously" and extended

Tucker Coburn, a former patient who is suing Paduch as well as New York-Presbyterian, told Gothamist he’s been seeking justice for years. A complaint filed on his behalf on April 5 alleged that Paduch sexually abused him during visits from approximately June 2016 until January 2019.

“For me, it's certainly great to see the charges come forward and be publicized, and that he was arrested, which is something that I've been hoping for since he abused me when I was 18,” Coburn said, now 25 years old. “Reading a lot of the charges, everything that's in the indictment, I definitely was taken back to some of the things that he did with me as well.”

Coburn said he filed a police report regarding the abuse he experienced in 2020, but his case was beyond the statute of limitations at the time.

“I would certainly like to see for this case, that Dr. Paduch be behind bars. I think that that's certainly appropriate in terms of the conduct that he had, and the sexual abuse that he perpetrated against other victims, as well as myself,” Coburn said.

Coburn’s lawsuit and the others filed by PCVA were brought under the New York’s Adult Survivors Act and the Child Victims Act, which suspended the statute of limitations for survivors of sexual abuse and allows victims to seek accountability from those who abused them and the institutions that allowed it to happen.

“The indictment is a defining step towards justice for his many victims, and we applaud federal prosecutors for bringing these charges,” said Mallory Allen, a partner at PCVA Law, in a statement. “Paduch preyed on patients who sought care and medical treatment for sensitive issues and when they were at their most vulnerable, lying on treatment beds in hospital rooms. NY Presbyterian and Northwell Health ignored the concerns of patients and their own employees, and enabled Dr. Paduch to abuse patients with impunity – and we will fight to hold them accountable.”

In the federal case, Paduch faces two counts each of “inducement of a person to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity and inducement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.” The charges carry sentences from 10 years to life in prison.

This story has been updated with additional information.