Listen Now: Exposed- Cover-Up at Columbia University

Summary

Liberty Lost: Exposed - Cover-Up at Columbia University

Episode Release Date: July 7, 2025
Host/Reporter: T. J. Raphael
Produced by: Wondery

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of Liberty Lost, host T. J. Raphael delves into a harrowing true story of abuse, institutional failure, and the relentless pursuit of justice. Titled "Exposed - Cover-Up at Columbia University," the episode uncovers the dark secrets of Dr. Robert Haddon, a trusted OB/GYN at Columbia University who exploited his position to abuse hundreds of patients over decades. This detailed investigation sheds light on the systemic issues that allowed such atrocities to go unnoticed and unaddressed for so long.

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The Initial Assault: Lori Kanyok’s Story

The episode opens with a vivid recounting of Lori Kanyok’s traumatic experience. On a routine postpartum exam, Lori encountered Dr. Robert Haddon, who crossed professional boundaries in a deeply unsettling manner.

• [06:11] Lori Kanyok: “I was naked in a room with a man. What was going to happen if I caused a scene?”

Lori recounted how Dr. Haddon initiated inappropriate contact, culminating in her realizing the severity of his actions only after the incident had occurred.

• [07:22] Lori Kanyok: “I hope that no little girl ever has to feel that, because that is being trapped in a prison that you couldn’t get out.”

Despite reporting the assault, Lori faced immense challenges as Columbia University exhibited insufficient accountability, allowing Haddon to return to work shortly after his arrest.

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Systemic Failure and Institutional Cover-Up

As the narrative unfolds, it becomes evident that Dr. Haddon’s misconduct was not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of abuse protected by institutional secrecy.

• [10:30] Lori Kanyok: “I have people on my team. There's people going to bat with me.”

Despite multiple reports and arrests, Columbia University failed to take meaningful action, instead pressuring survivors like Evelyn Yang to remain silent and even attempting to expose their identities to discredit their claims.

• [34:09] Anthony DiPietro: “The law firm that Columbia University hired went absolutely ballistic.”

This relentless cover-up underscored the lengths to which powerful institutions might go to protect their reputations over the well-being of individuals.

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The Emergence of Other Survivors: Evelyn Yang and Sandy Abramovich

The episode introduces other survivors, Evelyn Yang and Sandy Abramovich, whose testimonies reveal the widespread nature of Haddon’s abuse.

• [21:06] Evelyn Yang: “It wasn't me. It wasn't something that I did. And for the first time, I realized that I wasn't alone.”

Sandy Abramovich’s experience further illustrates the systemic indifference, as she discovered a vague referral from Columbia after her assault, leading to more questions than answers.

• [38:05] Sandy Abramovich: “I saw that he was a woman who worked in Columbia's legal office. And then the thing that hits me is she represents Columbia and I'm Sandy. Whose interest is she representing here?”

These personal stories collectively build a compelling case against Haddon and highlight the profound impact of institutional neglect on survivors seeking justice.

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Investigative Journalism and Legal Battles

Laura Millendorf, a prosecutor at the Special Victims Bureau of New York City, plays a pivotal role in unraveling the extent of Haddon's abuse. Her determination to pursue the case despite numerous obstacles underscores the challenges faced by those seeking accountability against powerful entities.

• [26:53] Laura Millendorf: “This just seemed like the kind of crime where you would have to really know what you were doing and understand the situation, the environment, how to manipulate that power.”

The collaboration between survivors and legal advocates like Anthony DiPietro, a dedicated malpractice lawyer, becomes crucial in building a robust case against Haddon and Columbia University.

• [23:33] Anthony DiPietro: “There was something about him that was very reassuring and that inspired trust. He wasn't pushy. He wasn't salesy.”

Despite relentless efforts, the legal battle is fraught with intimidation and strategic maneuvers by Columbia to stifle the survivors’ voices and undermine their credibility.

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Climactic Legal Victory and Ongoing Struggles

The persistence of the survivors and their legal team culminates in a significant victory when the Manhattan District Attorney's office indicts Dr. Haddon, charging him with multiple counts of criminal sexual acts.

• [31:58] Lori Kanyok: “We won. Let's go now.”

However, the victory is bittersweet as the fight extends beyond Haddon's indictment. The survivors continue to grapple with the aftermath, seeking to expose the depth of institutional complicity and prevent future abuses.

• [43:50] Anthony DiPietro: “These serial predators need the institution to do what they do.”

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Key Insights and Conclusions

Exposed - Cover-Up at Columbia University serves as a stark reminder of the pervasive nature of institutional failure in addressing and preventing abuse perpetrated by those in positions of power. The episode highlights several critical themes:

1. Power and Abuse: Dr. Haddon's ability to exploit his authoritative role underscores the vulnerability of individuals when power imbalances are left unchecked.

2. Institutional Complicity: Columbia University's attempts to suppress information and protect its reputation illustrate how institutions can impede justice and silence victims.

3. Survivor Resilience: The unwavering determination of survivors like Lori Kanyok, Evelyn Yang, and Sandy Abramovich exemplifies the strength required to confront systemic injustices.

4. Legal and Media Advocacy: The collaboration between legal advocates and investigative journalists is essential in bringing hidden abuses to light and holding perpetrators accountable.

• [44:34] Sandy Abramovich: “I didn't even know what I was doing. I just. I got so angry that I knew the story mattered and I wanted to tell it. I feel like I found my voice. I'm not stopping.”

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Closing Thoughts

This episode not only exposes the horrifying reality of Dr. Robert Haddon's abuses but also serves as a call to action against the systemic failures that allow such predators to thrive unchecked. Through meticulous reporting and heartfelt testimonies, Liberty Lost sheds light on the importance of vigilance, accountability, and the relentless pursuit of justice for survivors of abuse.

For those who have not listened, this episode offers a comprehensive and deeply moving exploration of how power can be abused and the critical need for institutions to be held accountable to protect the vulnerable.

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Resources for Survivors

If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, please reach out to the following resources:

• Rainn (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) Survivor Helpline: 1-800-656-4673
• National Sexual Violence Resource Center: nsvrc.org
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988

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This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the key elements and emotional depth of the episode.

Transcript

[TJ]

Hi, it's your Liberty Lost host, TJ we'll be back next week with episode five of Liberty Lost. But today we wanted to bring you something special that we think you'll want to hear. If you've been drawn to the investigative reporting and hidden systems that keep women silenced and Liberty Lost, we think you'll be just as gripped by another powerful series from Wondery called Cover up at Columbia University. It's the story of Dr. Robert Haddon, a trusted obgyn at Columbia University, one of the world's most prestigious medical schools, who used his position to abuse hundreds of patients over decades. And when it seemed like no one would be held accountable, a group of survivors decided to fight back. Hosted by medical journalist Laura Beale, the voice behind Dr. Death Exposed dives deep into how power protects predators, silences victims, and what it takes to finally break that silence. It's a story of systemic failure, survivor strength, and long overdue justice. And justice is happening. On May 5, Columbia University agreed to pay $750 million to 576 former patients of Dr. Hadden. And as part of a court approved settlement that brings the total paid by Columbia and its affiliates connected to the misconduct to over $1 billion, a staggering number and a testament to the relentless reporting and the voices who refused to be silenced. Right now, we're bringing you the first episode of Exposed. If you want to hear the full series, all episodes are available to binge exclusively on Wondery. Here's episode one of Exposed Cover up at Columbia University. See you back here next week.

[Narrator]

Just a heads up, this episode contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault. We felt it was important to include these details to understand the reality of what survivors experience. But as you'll see, this is a story about much more than that. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, you're not alone. And we'll share a list of resources at the end of the episode. Please take care while listening. Just after lunch one Friday afternoon, Lori Kanyok walked into a Columbia University medical center on the Upper east side of Manhattan. She was here for a postpartum exam. She stepped into the elevator and went up to her obstetrician's office. When it was her turn to be seen, a nurse showed her to the exam room and took her vitals. Lori changed into a hospital gown and waited. Her pregnancy had been considered high risk. She was almost 40. She'd previously miscarried, and her years as a professional dancer had left her with back injuries. She wanted the best possible care.

[Lori Kanyok]

A friend of Mine had worked for years at Columbia Hospital, and she and a lot of her other friends had been patients of Dr. Robert Haddon. And she said, hey, why don't you check him out?

[Narrator]

He's very good. And Columbia was one of the top medical names in the country.

[Lori Kanyok]

I felt lucky that I had that hospital carrying me through this.

[Narrator]

And now here she was, six weeks after delivering a beautiful baby girl. It was supposed to be a routine checkup. While Lori was lying on the exam table, scrolling through her phone, enjoying a few hours out of the house without a baby to care for, Dr. Robert Haddon finally stepped into the room like he always did, wearing his crisp white coat with his glasses and prim gray beard.

[Lori Kanyok]

Keith's a skinny Santa Claus, like a grandpa.

[Narrator]

He jumped right in with his usual chit chat.

[Lori Kanyok]

Hey, how's it going? How's the baby? Blah, blah, blah. Wow, you look good. You lost a lot of weight. Well, I'm a dancer. I'm at my fighting weight again, like we don't mess around kind of thing.

[Narrator]

A nurse was with him. He performed a breast exam and a pelvic exam.

[Lori Kanyok]

You're looking good. Everything's good. Nurse leaves.

[Narrator]

Dr. Hadden started to follow the nurse out, but stopped.

[Lori Kanyok]

Oh, I forgot your hemorrhoids. Oh, and you have stitches. I thought you just saw that.

[Narrator]

They were in the examination room alone.

[Lori Kanyok]

And that's when I knew this was.

[Partner]

Not going to go very well.

[Narrator]

She froze. In that moment, she had a flashback to the first time Dr. Haddon made her feel uncomfortable. She was at the end of her second trimester, lying on the exam table, unable to see over her pregnant belly.

[Lori Kanyok]

I had this cool sensation on my area, and I was like, that didn't feel like an examination. Here I am, 38 years old. I know what it feels like.

[Narrator]

That night, she told her partner what happened. He thought it was just the hormones. And she told herself to refocus on what mattered most.

[Lori Kanyok]

I was sort of like, okay, the goal here is to deliver a healthy child. You put yourself aside. You want to know that the baby's still there. You want to see a heartbeat. You want to know that the umbilical cord isn't wrapped around their necks.

[Narrator]

Then another moment flashed in front of her.

[Lori Kanyok]

I was really pregnant. Like walrus pregnant.

[Narrator]

It was right before she was due. She went in for a dilation check.

[Lori Kanyok]

And he said, this might hurt a little bit and you're going to bleed.

[Narrator]

After the force of the dilation check lifted Lori's body off the table to.

[Lori Kanyok]

The point where I was holding the sides of the table with my hands.

[Narrator]

She heard him moan. When she'd actually gone into labor and another physician gave her a dilation check that she'd barely even felt, it briefly dawned on her that what Hadden had done might not have been normal. And now, alone with him in the examination room, Laurie's suspicion turned into sheer panic.

[Lori Kanyok]

It was like in that moment, all the two incidences prior to me delivering her were culminating in that moment right there.

[Narrator]

He told her to lay back down.

[Lori Kanyok]

I'm naked in a room with a man. What was going to happen if I caused a scene? I laid down, I had my phone in my hands, and he said, go ahead, put your feet in stirrups. So I did. And he grabbed one of those, like, paper blanket things that they have, and he put it over my knees and he pulled it taut. So if you can imagine, like, your knees are up, it formed a bridge, like a wall. And all of a sudden, his head dipped down and he licked my vagina. And I jumped up, and his face turned beet red.

[Narrator]

Dr. Haddon began talking as though nothing had happened.

[Lori Kanyok]

You know those cartoons where you see lips moving but you hear slow motion?

[Narrator]

Lori frantically texted her partner.

[Lori Kanyok]

I said, Dr. Haddon just licked my vagina.

[Narrator]

Her partner paid an off duty cab driver 50 bucks to get him to the building on East 60th Street. Meanwhile, Dr. Hadden was still talking, and.

[Lori Kanyok]

He said to me, stop in my office and get birth control.

[911 Operator]

I was like, okay, great.

[Narrator]

He finally left the exam room. Lori grabbed her clothes.

[Lori Kanyok]

I was somewhere between shock, hyperventilation, and sort of like, I gotta get out of here. In my head, I just kept saying, I gotta get out of here.

[Narrator]

She tried to slip out of the building as fast as she could, but behind her in the hallway, she heard Dr. Haddon following her, calling out, lori, you forgot your prescription. She panicked and faked a phone call from the babysitter insisting she had to leave.

[Lori Kanyok]

And I get downstairs, and the dad was there.

[Narrator]

911 Operator 1520, where's your emergency?

[Lori's Partner]

My fiance was at her OBGYN and he basically did something inappropriate to her. So.

[Narrator]

Okay.

[Lori's Partner]

Did he? I just went up there and took her from there and brought her home.

[Narrator]

Did he harass her, sir?

[Lori's Partner]

What? No. He basically touched her orally. Okay, how long ago did this happen? It's been now about half an hour to 40 minutes.

[Dr. Robert Hadden]

Okay.

[Lori Kanyok]

And I hope that no little girl ever has to feel that, because that is being trapped in a prison that you. You couldn't get out. Like, just Want to get out. And that's the part that never goes away.

[Narrator]

The NYPD met Laurie and her partner at their apartment. And while she was giving her statement, Dr. Hadden called her.

[Dr. Robert Hadden]

Yeah, hi, Lori, it's Dr. Hadden calling. It's like 4:30 on Friday.

[Lori Kanyok]

He started in his very mild tone of voice and then he proceeded to get more and more agitated.

[Dr. Robert Hadden]

What the heck happened? What. What's going on? I'm very upset. I don't know what. What's going on, so please, if, please call me back or.

[Lori's Partner]

All right.

[Narrator]

The cops glanced at one another.

[Lori Kanyok]

The one detective said, fuck him. Let's go get this pig. I was like, yeah, okay, I've got people on my team. There's people going to bat with me. And they did.

[Narrator]

Until they didn't. Dr. Robert Hadden was arrested at his office. The police report shows that at least two Columbia University administrators were aware that he'd been taken into custody, including the department chair, Mary Dalton, and administrator Jeannie De la Carri, who also left a message for Lori that afternoon. I had heard that you had an incident that happened that you were unhappy about today. That was Friday, June 29, 2012. On Tuesday, Dr. Robert Haddon went back to work. From Wondery, I'm Laura Beale and this is exposed. White goes up, it's gonna come crashing down.

[Lori Kanyok]

You get out, run all of your secrets now.

[Narrator]

White go.

[Lori Kanyok]

It's gonna come crashing.

[Narrator]

Crashing. In the spring of 2019, I was moderating a panel at a national meeting of state medical boards, the people who are in charge of doctor discipline. There was one patient advocate on the panel, a woman named Marissa who'd been assaulted by her OB gyn, the same doctor who had assaulted Lori Kanyok. It was the first time I heard the name Robert Hadden. Going to a doctor is always an act of trust. But there's a particular vulnerability about a visit to an OB gyn. You take off your clothes and give a stranger permission to touch you in the most intimate areas of your body. You do it year after year, and it never really gets easier. That's why when I heard Marissa's story, I wasn't just horrified that a physician would violate those sacred boundaries. I was also disturbed to learn that his assaults had gone on for years, seemingly right under Columbia's nose. Marissa told me that he'd been arrested and charged. So I was thinking, good, this guy's in jail. He wasn't, though. She said he was home in New Jersey, essentially retired. I thought, he's where I had just done A story about a terrible surgeon who went to prison. After he was arrested, he. And here was Robert Hadden, a free man. As a journalist, that was the part I really couldn't get out of my head. How does a doctor abuse his patients year after year and then just get away with it? After all, Hadden had worked for Columbia University, one of the most powerful institutions in New York City, an Ivy League school home to Nobel Prize winners. You'd think if anyone had good safeguards in place, it would be them. And still no one, not even Hadden, had been held accountable for what happened to his patients. At least not yet. Because Marisa and the other survivors were still fighting for justice and fighting with the biggest weapon they had. Their voices. This is episode one. Trapped. In the days following her assault, Lori Canioc tried to shift her attention back to her life. And her infant daughter tried to focus on the mundane tasks of motherhood. Feeding diapers, lining up babysitters. But she also wanted to know what was happening with Dr. Haddon following his arrest.

[Lori Kanyok]

Well, I would have to, first of all, ask questions. It took so long that I was in, like, disbelief. I was getting impatient.

[Narrator]

She tried to trust that the authorities were acting in her best interest, that the criminal justice system would work. But days turned into weeks.

[Lori Kanyok]

I used the word prank call, for lack of a better term. But I would have my friends call to make fake appointments with him. They told me I could make an appointment and we would go mother.

[Narrator]

Lori couldn't believe that he was under investigation for sexual assault and that Columbia was letting him back into exam rooms with patients.

[Lori Kanyok]

Wouldn't you want to cover your ass?

[Narrator]

The assistant district attorney leading the investigation assured her that these things take time. They need to bill their case before they can charge him.

[Lori Kanyok]

And she kept sort of telling me, like, we don't want any loopholes for him to get out of this.

[Narrator]

So I believed it.

[Lori Kanyok]

What was I going to do?

[Narrator]

Months later, Lori got an update about what could be the most important piece of evidence. The DNA samples from her rape kit.

[Lori Kanyok]

We found something positive on your underwear. It's amylase. I didn't even know what amylase was at the time. And amylase is in your saliva. So I'm thinking, okay, this is positive. This is fantastic. The fight just got that much easier.

[Narrator]

It seemed like things were finally moving.

[Lori Kanyok]

I'm in therapy. I'm raising my daughter. You know, we're going to check this box and put it away.

[Narrator]

She got an email from the assistant da.

[Lori Kanyok]

Can we talk? I said, sure. I'm Thinking we're going to get a home run.

[Narrator]

They got on the phone, she says.

[Lori Kanyok]

To me, I'm sorry, Lori, but we have to drop the case.

[Narrator]

The DNA analysis from Lori's rape kit showed that her underwear contained genetic material from three people, Lori and two males. One set of DNA matched her partner, but the sample from the other male was too small to conclusively link to anyone.

[Lori Kanyok]

And I just remember feeling dumbfounded, like I was gutted.

[Narrator]

Robert Hadden would not be charged.

[Lori Kanyok]

When they had let the case go. You know, he was free, man. He was free to work. He was free to do whatever.

[Narrator]

Hadden continued to work for five weeks after his arrest. Then Columbia placed him on leave because his attorney wouldn't let him participate in their internal investigation into his conduct. Months later, he and Columbia parted ways officially, but his medical license was clean and so was his criminal record. He could easily go somewhere else and find another job as an OB gyn.

[Lori Kanyok]

This is a dangerous man.

[Narrator]

Laurie wanted something out in public that would warn other women about the kind of man he was.

[Lori Kanyok]

The goal was to have him stop hurting other people anywhere, in any state, in any country.

[Narrator]

She called up a friend, a lawyer.

[Lori Kanyok]

Who is a very well connected person in New York City. Mr. Bake from Sex and the City, you know that character type? That's him.

[Narrator]

She told him she was thinking about filing a civil lawsuit against Hadden and Columbia.

[Lori Kanyok]

He says to me, don't fight, Columbia.

[Partner]

And I was like, I, okay, but.

[Lori Kanyok]

He can't practice medicine. Like, okay, well, get an attorney. Just, you know, be realistic about what you're doing.

[Narrator]

Laurie thought she was being realistic, even if it felt like no one else understood.

[Lori Kanyok]

The older women in my life said to me, you're fighting something bigger than you. Stop.

[Narrator]

Laurie didn't care.

[Lori Kanyok]

You know, my 10th grade English teacher said to me, you're foolish to think you're ever gonna become a professional dancer. Well, fuck you. I did right. And that was how I felt in this moment. You present me with that challenge, I will rise to the occasion, and I will find a way to make this happen. And that's who I am.

[Narrator]

She got an attorney, and in April 2013, she filed a lawsuit. A couple of months later, a mention of the suit appeared in the New York Daily News. It was just five paragraphs. Buried in the bottom corner on page 10, the headline read, Doc sued as sex Abuser. It wasn't a lot of exposure, but Lori Kanyok hoped it would be enough. Across the Hudson River, a leafy world away from New York City, And Evelyn Yang arrived at her parents house in New Jersey with a baby on her hip and a bag of untended mail.

[Partner]

I have a habit of, you know, letting mail pile up before I get to it.

[Narrator]

She figured she could work through opening the mountain of envelopes while her parents spent time with her grandson. She began to flip through bills, junk mail, until one envelope caught her eye. It was from Columbia University. This wasn't the usual alumni magazine or donation request from her alma mater. This was from the medical center. Evelyn opened the letter. It began, dear Valued Patient. It was about her former OB GYN, Dr. Hadden.

[Partner]

It said that Hadden was no longer at Columbia. And as soon as I read that I got goosebumps all over my body. I could feel all the little hairs stand up. And then the room started to thin.

[Narrator]

The letter offered no explanation for his departure.

[Partner]

I remember thinking very clearly, oh my gosh, could it be that he did this to someone else?

[Narrator]

She grabbed her phone and typed into the search bar robert Haddon.

[Partner]

And sure enough, an article popped up.

[Narrator]

It was about Lori Kanyok's civil suit.

[Partner]

I read that and I felt nauseous, but also a sense of relief. It wasn't me. It wasn't something that I did. And for the first time, I realized that I wasn't alone.

[Narrator]

Evelyn hadn't told anyone she was assaulted by her obgyn, not even her husband.

[Partner]

Suddenly it felt really important to tell someone. This is a pattern of behavior. It's important for people to know.

[Narrator]

She turned back to her phone.

[Partner]

I started to search in Google, things like what to do if you're assaulted by your doctor. And I just started viewing page after page, not even really sure what I was looking for.

[Narrator]

She stumbled on a forum where people were asking legal questions and among the lawyers speak and the why don't you call my office and make an appointment responses. Evelyn noticed one participant who sounded like a human being.

[Partner]

I thought, this is the kind of person that I need and this is the kind of person I want to talk to about this.

[Narrator]

It was a malpractice lawyer named Anthony DiPietro. Evelyn gave him a call.

[Partner]

I was looking for an advocate. I was looking for someone to hold my hand through this process. And really the best that I found was an attorney.

[Anthony DiPietro]

I had handled hundreds of obstetric malpractice cases. You know, cases involving infants who were injured during birth or mothers who were injured or killed during labor and delivery, but nothing like this. While I was on the phone with her, I opened my computer and I did a Little research, and I saw that there was like one or two stories out there that this had happened.

[Narrator]

To people they made arrangements to meet at his office. Anthony didn't work for a big fancy law firm. He didn't have partners. He didn't have a receptionist. He was more of a fan of flip flops than suits. He was, in short, a slightly rogue independent player with a deeply ingrained drive from his blue collar family to stick up for the little guys.

[Partner]

There was something about him that was very reassuring and that inspired trust. He wasn't pushy. He wasn't salesy.

[Narrator]

Anthony told Evelyn that he spoke with the Manhattan District Attorney's office. They were aware of allegations against Hadden and they were investigating. One of those allegations was from the woman Evelyn had read about who was assaulted on June 29, 2012. That was Lori Kanjak. About a month later, around the time Lori's friends were calling Hadden's office to see if he was still working, Evelyn Yang was assaulted.

[Partner]

I remember thinking like, that can't be right. Like there's a mistake. Maybe my dates are wrong. Like it just seemed impossible that he could have been let back to work after assaulting a woman in his office and then being arrested in his office.

[Narrator]

There was no mistake. Her dates weren't wrong.

[Partner]

At that point, there was no way Columbia could claim that they didn't have a hand in him assaulting me. I was curious.

[Narrator]

For so long, Evelyn had thought she was the only one and that Hadden was just a monster. Now she realized it was so much more than that. It was also about the people who were supposed to protect her from Hadden and didn't. Laura Millendorf sat in her office at the Special Victims Bureau of New York City.

[Laura Millendorf]

Very old government desks. No gliders on drawers. Corrugated metal edges, sometimes that would cut you.

[Narrator]

On her very old government desk was Robert Hadden's case file.

[Laura Millendorf]

Senior physician and OBGYN at Columbia University having oral contact with a vagina of a postpartum woman. Every aspect of that sentence stands out and is unusual.

[Narrator]

It had been about a year since Millendorf had first learned about Robert Hadden, when she met Laurie Kenyack, the woman who reported him to the police.

[Laura Millendorf]

She struck me as somebody who would make an excellent witness. She was poised, smart, well spoken, confident. Incredible memory for detail, tough.

[Narrator]

So when Millendorf was told to drop Laurie's case, she was deeply disappointed.

[Laura Millendorf]

I really wanted to fight this case. I believed it was worth the fight. I just did not buy from the get go that it would Only be one. I just. It didn't make sense to me that somebody would graduate immediately to licking the vagina of a patient in that position of power at that age from never having done it before.

[Narrator]

Her six years as a prosecutor working in domestic violence and sex crimes told her this was too brazen to be an entry level offense.

[Laura Millendorf]

This just seemed like the kind of crime where you would have to really know what you were doing and understand the situation, the environment, how to manipulate that power, how to manipulate office space, how to do it without detection, how to be confident you would get away with it. So I suspected, but I had no idea if I'd actually be able to prove it.

[Narrator]

And now here she was, sitting across from another survivor who might be able to help her prove it.

[Partner]

I remember her saying that she had doctors in her family, and what Hadden did offended her personally.

[Narrator]

Evelyn Yang told her lawyer, Anthony, that she wanted to be involved in the Hadden investigation.

[Partner]

I asked him, you know, who should I talk to? And he's the one who arranged for me to speak with the ada.

[Laura Millendorf]

She was totally, justifiably and reasonably nervous, but really determined in a way that was sort of similar to Laurie, had the absolute ring of truth.

[Narrator]

For all her nerves, Evelyn felt a sense of comfort from Millendorf.

[Partner]

She seemed really smart and sharp and motivated. So I trusted her. What she was trying to do, that she was trying to put him away.

[Narrator]

Evelyn wasn't the only woman who had seen news stories about Lori's civil suit.

[Laura Millendorf]

Women were trickling in, being connected with me, calling sometimes my desk directly, sometimes through the sex Crimes unit.

[Narrator]

There was a woman who'd been sitting at work surfing through the Internet when she came across a New York Daily News headline, gyno is sicko, with a photo of her former doctor. There was another woman who was only 20 years old when she visited Hadden to get birth control so she wouldn't have her period on her wedding night. And with each conversation, Millendorf sat at her desk taking notes.

[Laura Millendorf]

The sheer number of women that were coming forward with stories that had striking similarity, where these women did not know each other.

[Narrator]

Millendorf got the okay from her office to reopen the investigation, and the first person she notified was Lori.

[Lori Kanyok]

Millendorf called me back and said, basically, we're going to pick this case back up.

[Narrator]

Well done.

[Lori Kanyok]

There were numbers. Now it wasn't just me.

[Narrator]

By May of 2014, Millendorf was feeling confident about presenting the case to a grand jury. Laurie and Evelyn had agreed to testify, and so had several Other women. Millendorf knew that the case would mostly come down to their word against his. But she thought a jury would believe the women.

[Laura Millendorf]

Just the way that they knew that he had just put his mouth on their vagina, the way that they knew that it was a tongue they were feeling on their vagina and not a finger. These were awkward things to discuss, difficult things to discuss, but they were all really good at it.

[Narrator]

Millendorf was there to receive the women as they arrived at the courthouse in downtown Manhattan. She ushered them into a holding room and told them what to expect.

[Lori Kanyok]

Millendorf explained the room and how it was gonna happen. She had the pecking order of who's speaking when and this is the reason why, and we're going to put you guys first.

[Narrator]

For Lori and Evelyn, it felt surreal to be in a room for the first time with other women who'd been through the same experience.

[Partner]

I thought that was strangely comforting to be with these other women who had been assaulted by him, seeing them live, that was earth shattering. The feeling of really not being alone.

[Narrator]

Evelyn looked around.

[Partner]

I remember wondering what they would look like before the day of the grand jury, thinking things like, will they all be Asian? You know, like, I didn't know why he picked the people he picked to abuse. And what struck me is that we all looked very different.

[Narrator]

But what these women had in common was that they had trusted their doctor. One by one, the women walked into the grand jury room to give their testimony.

[Partner]

I do remember being anxious about testifying. There was graphic description of the assault, so that wasn't easy.

[Narrator]

Then it was Lori's turn to testify.

[Lori Kanyok]

They escorted me into the room and.

[Partner]

It was like night court.

[Lori Kanyok]

Remember that old TV show sitting there and there was like a panel of people.

[Narrator]

She pulled out a chair and sat down and began to answer questions about what happened on her last visit to Dr. Hadden.

[Lori Kanyok]

The looks on their faces were in sheer horror. It was very human. It was very real.

[Narrator]

After deliberating, the grand jury came back with an indictment. Hadden was charged with committing five counts of a criminal sexual act, a third degree felony, and four misdemeanors. Millendorf called Laurie with the news.

[Lori Kanyok]

We won. Let's go now.

[Narrator]

We're off. This was just the start. Now Millendorf needed to prepare for a trial. She needed to build a case that would put Hadden behind bars. She turned her attention to the only place Robert Haddon ever practiced medicine, Columbia University. In the weeks following Hadden's indictment, there were lots of things Columbia didn't do. They didn't issue a statement apologizing on behalf of the institution for the women's suffering. They didn't have a big meeting to inform their faculty or offer any clear guidance on what to do when patients came forward. And they didn't notify any of Hadden's patients that their former doctor was under indictment. What did they do? Well, for starters, they fought the women with the full force of their legal muscle. Evelyn Yang had been unsure about filing a lawsuit for a lot of reasons. She didn't quite know what the point of it would be. She wasn't looking for money, but her lawyer, Anthony, told her there was more to it than that.

[Partner]

I learned that the da they don't really owe you any information. If you're a victim, you're actually just a witness, right? You're not the plaintiff and you don't have the rights of a plaintiff.

[Narrator]

If Evelyn was the plaintiff in her own suit, she could get access to important information. But the thought of a lawsuit was still hard to stomach. This was an incredibly personal matter.

[Partner]

I'm a private person. I would have had no interest in being public.

[Narrator]

So when Evelyn did decide she wanted to file, she did so anonymously. Shortly after filing the suit against Columbia and its affiliated hospitals, Anthony posted about it on his blog. He heard from lawyers almost immediately.

[Anthony DiPietro]

The law firm that Columbia University hired went absolutely ballistic.

[Narrator]

So did the lawyers representing New York Presbyterian Hospital.

[Anthony DiPietro]

At the time, I was a newly minted single father trying to figure out how to raise, you know, a five or six year old daughter and practicing law was my sole source of income. And they sent me this very detailed and specific cease and desist letter.

[Narrator]

They threatened to sue him for libel and file a professional grievance if he didn't take the blog post down.

[Anthony DiPietro]

It did nothing but embolden me.

[Partner]

He had at some point was describing their methods to me and it was like bury him in all kinds of motions and paperwork. And maybe they were trying to bully him, knowing that he was sort of this one man shop.

[Narrator]

And then Columbia came after Evelyn.

[Partner]

One of the things that came up was this question of anonymity, that they were trying to make it so that I couldn't be anonymous.

[Narrator]

Two months after Hadden's arraignment, Columbia was still pressing the court to force Evelyn to reveal her identity, which really was.

[Anthony DiPietro]

Designed to try to bully her into withdrawing her case. I mean, that's what they were trying to do. They were trying to intimidate her and basically tell her, hey, we're going to Expose your name in court filings, so you better withdraw your case and just go away.

[Narrator]

Lawyers for Columbia argued that, quote, if the alleged offense is so stigmatizing that plaintiff can be allowed to sue anonymously, does it not follow that merely being accused of having committed the act is as stigmatizing or worse? The accusations alone will cause indelible harm to the hospital and university's reputation.

[Partner]

It sounded to me like they were just throwing everything they possibly could to try and intimidate us.

[Narrator]

But both Evelyn and Lori had help from people outside of Columbia. For another survivor, it was a very different story. Sandy Abramovich worked at a cardiovascular research lab at Columbia. She had received the same letter as Evelyn Yang, the one about Hadden closing his practice. So she asked a Columbia OB GYN why Hadden had left.

[911 Operator]

She immediately just darted her eyes down, looked to the side, and said, I don't know anything about that.

[Narrator]

Sandy thought it was strange, but she let it go until a year later when a panic attack brought up memories of how she'd felt lying on the exam table in front of Hadden.

[911 Operator]

I'm suddenly gasping, like hyperventilating, start to get dizzy, weakness, crawling, feeling in my legs. I can't stop crying. I felt trapped. Very, very trapped.

[Narrator]

When she recovered, she called her new OBGYN at Columbia.

[911 Operator]

I said I wanted to speak with her urgently.

[Narrator]

Sandy described the examinations with Hadden. She asked if there was any medical explanation for the way he touched her and the overtly sexual ways he spoke to.

[911 Operator]

She was sympathetic, I would say. She was making eye contact with me the whole time. She didn't sound shocked.

[Narrator]

There was no medical explanation. Sandy realized it was an assault.

[911 Operator]

She said, hang on a minute, leaves the room, shuts the door. I'm in there by myself. She comes back short while later and she has a yellow post it on. It's written Patricia Catapano and a phone number. And she says, this is the person to whom we've been told to refer patients of Dr. Hannon that have had experiences similar to you. This made me think, okay, so people know about this. I'm not the only one. And Columbia knows that I'm not the only one.

[Narrator]

When she got home, she looked up the name on the post it note and saw that it was a woman who worked in Columbia's legal office.

[911 Operator]

And then the thing that hits me is she represents Columbia and I'm Sandy. Whose interest is she representing here?

[Narrator]

We emailed Patricia Catapano. We wanted to ask why a former patient of Hadden's would have been referred to her. She wrote back, I am retired from Columbia and have no interest in responding to this inquiry. Sandy was not told that Hadden had been indicted two months earlier and was facing charges. She wasn't even told that the DA's office had set up a hotline for survivors. And. And no one from Columbia ever called prosecutors or the state board to report what Dr. Haddon did to Sandy. All Sandy was given was the post it note. She tucked the little yellow square into her wallet. It stayed there for the next four years. She never called the number. After Hadden's indictment, Laura Millendorf continued building the case for the Manhattan District Attorney's office. She turned her attention to the people in Hadden's orbit at Columbia.

[Laura Millendorf]

We interviewed everyone that could possibly have any opportunity to observe him or would have any information that could be useful.

[Narrator]

Schitt expected that someone at some point had seen something.

[Laura Millendorf]

They were mostly not useful really, or helpful. Either way, most people had attorneys with them, which is of course the right to do it.

[Narrator]

Just didn't square with what she was learning from the victims. Millendorf was noticing clear patterns in his behavior. Haddon would sometimes perform an exam, pretend to leave with a nurse, and then find an excuse to be in the room by himself like he'd done with Laurie and Evelyn. Some survivors said that the abuse occurred even while a nurse was there with their back turned or looking the other way. And the grooming often started long before Hadden physically assaulted them.

[Laura Millendorf]

Discussions with his patients about their sexual intercourse with their husband or their partners, asking him about sex toys or how they orgasmed, which could have no medical basis. Having younger women parade around his office naked and calling that a skin check and telling them that that was how he would check their skin for melanoma.

[Narrator]

Then things would escalate.

[Laura Millendorf]

Double handed breast exams with one hand on each breast while gazing into the eyes of the person. Abuse of pregnant women and lactating women squeezing their breasts so that their breast milk came out sometimes on his body.

[Narrator]

Or his face hadn't also seemed to target women who were young or pregnant for the first time.

[Laura Millendorf]

Women who did not have partners there. Women who were young, women who were vulnerable because of a high risk pregnancy history. And so of course these women are going to experience self doubt about a crime that is really beyond the imagination of most civilized human beings. And so often they would go back to their doctor.

[Narrator]

By 2015, Millendorf had identified around 20 survivors.

[Laura Millendorf]

I was talking to victims and learning of victims and witnesses that went back to the 90s. And I remember thinking, these are only the ones I know about. If these are only the ones I know about, and this goes back to the 90s. I was trying to do calculations in my head, like, how many patients does someone see in a day, even if he only abused 10% of them? What are the sheer numbers of victims here? There were victims of all ages and backgrounds in clinics for people who had no insurance and also in fancy offices on the Upper east side. They were in every office, every age.

[Partner]

Bracket, every ethnic bracket.

[Laura Millendorf]

I remember just being blown away by the numbers. I slowly came to realize that I was dealing with a sexual abuser of epic proportions. And I distinctly remember that when I started to say those numbers out loud, people looked at me like I was crazy.

[Narrator]

If her instincts were right, Hadden could be one of the most prolific sexual predators to ever come through the Manhattan District Attorney's office. Millendorf was in the business of putting bad guys in jail, and that is exactly what she intended to do. The problem was he wasn't just another bad guy. He was a doctor who had spent his entire career at one of the most powerful institutions. Institutions in New York. An institution where it was easy to keep a lot of secrets.

[Sandy Abramovich]

Columbia is everywhere. They are everywhere. And you really start feeling like you can't trust anyone.

[Anthony DiPietro]

These serial predators need the institution to do what they do.

[Lori Kanyok]

Everybody who was anybody knew that I called the police. And why anybody was assaulted after that is beyond me. What more does a person have to do but call the police? What's wrong with our system?

[911 Operator]

If I didn't defend guilty people, I wouldn't make a living. The guilt or non guilt of my clients is kind of irrelevant to me. Everybody is entitled to a defense.

[Laura Millendorf]

I felt like I couldn't win because I felt like the more I argued on behalf of the case, the more it sort of played into this narrative that I was over zealous and I was over prosecuting the case.

[Partner]

It was survivor's work. We were called upon time and time again to share our stories, to expose our pain.

[Sandy Abramovich]

I didn't even know what I was doing. I just. I got so angry that I knew the story mattered and I wanted to tell it. I feel like I found my voice. I'm not stopping.

[Lori Kanyok]

We need to focus on the why and the how. You know, he probably assaulted thousands of women. Thousands.

[911 Operator]

If they didn't know, it's because they.

[Narrator]

Chose not to know.

[Laura Millendorf]

I think the survivors in this case are owed the truth and answers to their questions. And I would like to be able to clarify the record with the true account of this case.

[Narrator]

That's coming up on this season of Exposed. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, here are some resources Rainn the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network Survivor helpline is 1-800-656-4673. The National Sexual Violence Resource center provides resources for sexual violence and prevention education. You can find them at nsvrc.org the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 9:88 from Wondery this is episode one of six of Exposed, a series about power, who has it, who loses it and what it takes to get it back. Exposed is written, reported and hosted by me, Laura Beale. Bianca Fortas of ProPublica Co reported this story with me. You'll find a link to our article in the show. Description this episode was produced by Jacqueline Kim. Senior producer is Julia Lowery Henderson Associate producer is Malachi Wade Story editor is Tracy Egbus Fact checking is by Jacqueline Coletti consulting by Ashley Fonts Senior managing producer is Latta Pandya Managing producer is Olivia Weber Sound design and mixing by Michelle Macklem Music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Frisson Sync. Executive producers are George Lavender, Marshall Louie and Jen Sargent for Wondering.