Candidate's Wife Claims Sexual Assault by Columbia Ob/Gyn

Evelyn Yang says she was a victim of Robert Hadden, MD, the convicted former Columbia University ob/gyn, and that she testified on the grand jury that indicted him.

In an interview with CNN, Yang (wife of 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang), revealed that during a 2012 office visit while 7 months pregnant with her first child, Hadden declared that she needed a cesarean section, then grabbed her, undressed her, and began examining her ungloved.

"At that moment, I knew it was wrong, I knew I was being assaulted," Yang told CNN. "I knew it was happening, and I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face as he was assaulting me, just waiting for it to be over."

No chaperone or other personnel was present in the room, she said, despite the fact that Hadden had recently been arrested on sexual assault charges.

Yang did not initially tell anyone about the assault, and it wasn't until after her child was born that she received a letter in the mail saying that Hadden had left his practice. To find out more information, she searched Hadden's name online and discovered that other women had come forward with similar allegations against him.

"At that moment, everything just stood still; it was this sense of relief, of finally realizing that I wasn't alone in it," Yang told CNN. "This was a serial predator and he just picked me as his prey."

Afterwards, she told her husband.

Yang is one of 32 women now suing Columbia, claiming that the university failed to intervene when Hadden sexually assaulted them during office visits, and alleging the institution had "concealed" and "enabled" his behavior since the 1990s.

In his trial, Hadden faced nine charges, but ultimately pleaded guilty to one felony count of forcible touching and another of third-degree sexual abuse. In the 2016 plea deal, his medical license was permanently revoked and he was registered as a Level 1 sex offender (the lowest tier) in the state of New York. He received no jail time.

Yang called the punishment "a slap on the wrist," and said it felt like a betrayal.

"It wasn't until after MeToo and the [Harvey] Weinstein case came out that victims in this case realized we were betrayed twice," Yang said. "It's like getting slapped in the face and punched in the gut. The [District Attorney's] office is meant to protect us, is meant to serve justice, and there was no justice here."

In a statement to MedPage Today, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said that because conviction is never a guaranteed outcome in a criminal trial, the office's primary concern was holding Hadden accountable and making sure he would not victimize women in the future.

"Dr. Hadden was a serial sexual predator who used access and power to take advantage of women in their most vulnerable states," he said. "While we stand by our legal analysis and resulting disposition of this difficult case, we regret that this resolution has caused survivors pain."

A statement provided to MedPage Today by Columbia University said the allegations leading to Hadden's 2016 plea and in subsequent complaints were "abhorrent."

"We deeply apologize to those whose trust was violated," the statement said.

Yang's experience echoes other women's claims that Hadden used a series of "grooming" tactics to build a false sense of comfort and trust. She said Hadden asked her "inappropriate," "probing" questions about her sex life that were unrelated to her health. Her examinations became longer, more frequent, and, she realized later, unnecessary.

"I feel like I put up with some inappropriate behavior that I didn't know at the time was straight up sexual abuse [or] sexual assault until much later," said Yang.

She said her growing public presence, along with letters she had received from women regarding their own experiences with sexual assault, made her feel empowered to share her story now.

"In this case, my experience with sexual assault and all that happened afterwards is such a powerful and upsetting example of the truth that women are living with every day," Yang said in the CNN interview. "I just happen to be able to have a platform to talk about it."

"I'm so proud of Evelyn for sharing her story on behalf of so many women who have had similar experiences, most of whom will never have the same opportunity," Andrew Yang said on Twitter. "She is the source of strength for our family and she demonstrates it every day."

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