New York City urologist convicted of sexually abusing patients hit with nearly 150 new civil cases

A disgraced New York City urologist who was convicted of sexually abusing patients under the guise of medical care for years, is now being sued by over 300 former male patients.

Darius A. Paduch, of North Bergen, New Jersey, was convicted by a jury in Manhattan federal court in May of 11 counts relating to the sexual abuse of seven patients, including four who were children during part of the abuse, The Associated Press reported.

 

He had been indicted in April 2023, and over time the number of his accusers only grew.

On Tuesday, 143 new civil cases were filed in New York Supreme Court against Paduch, and the hospitals that previously employed him, attorney Anthony T. DiPietro said.

That brings his firm’s cases filed against Paduch and his past employers to 310, as a suit was previously filed on behalf of 167 plaintiffs.

Years of abuse under the guise of medical care

Paduch worked as a urologist in New York City from 2003 through 2023 specializing in male infertility and male reproductive health, according to his indictments.

From at least 2007 through 2019 he sexually abused and assaulted patients, including minors, who went to him for care at one medical institution. He continued to abuse patients when he began practicing at a different hospital located in Long Island in 2019.

Paduch used his position at prominent medical institutions to make victims believe that the abuse and assault he inflicted upon them was medically appropriate and he often had them schedule follow up visits — resulting in some being abused by him repeatedly for multiple years, the complaint said.

In his abuse, he’d sometimes conduct physical exams with no one else in the room, masturbate his victims, play pornography, grope the victims, touch victims without gloves or warning, induce them to travel from or through other states to attend appointments with him, and exchange texts and emails — including with minors — in which he made inappropriate and sexual comments, the complaint said.

Paduch’s attorneys said following his conviction that Paducah “has maintained his innocence since the start of this case. He maintains it to this day and we will continue to fight for him. We will be filing post trial motions and an appeal and will seek all available relief,” AP reported at the time.

His attorneys had filed a motion for a new trial later in May, which the court denied on Aug. 2, according to the court record.

His sentencing is set for November 20.

More victims coming forward

Attorney DiPietro said the new 143 civil cases also name Weill Cornell and Northwell Health Systems, and allege the defendants were aware of what Paduch was doing to his patients and they “conspired” to “conceal his crimes.”

DiPietro’s firm said Paduch had worked at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and Northwell Health.

Northwell Health Systems did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Weill Cornell Medicine spokesperson said Wednesday: “The acts described in this criminal trial are deeply disturbing and we are heartbroken for these survivors. Patient safety has always been our highest priority, and it is our obligation to establish an environment that promotes dignity and respect for everyone who entrusts us with their care.”

The spokesperson said after learning of the allegations, “our Office of General Counsel engaged outside counsel to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the behavior of this former faculty member and have fully cooperated with law enforcement.”

Weill Cornell Medicine said it also had outside experts conduct a full review of patient safety policies and practices, and has since implemented “enhancements to our policies and training requirements, and launched new patient safety programs.”

The new complaint accuses Paduch of sodomizing patients with sex toys and performing surgical procedures on patients such as cystoscopies and varicocele surgeries, at times without anesthesia, “in an effort to inflict pain upon the patients — all without any basis in actual medical standards of care,” the firm said in a release.

“Darius Paduch exploited more male patients than any predator in history,” DiPietro said in a statement. “Patients trust these so-called ‘top hospitals’ to provide safe and proper medical care for deeply personal conditions. Patients don’t go into a medical office thinking they are going to be exploited by some deviant criminal in a white lab coat.”

The mother of a patient who who was seen by Paduch as a urology patient at Weill-Cornell said in a statement shared by DiPietro: “By a fluke, I happened to read recently what happened to my son on those visits. And it’s worse than I could have ever imagined…Learning of what happened on those visits has nearly killed me.”

An attorney for Paduch declined to comment on the new cases.

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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com