Jury selection begins in trial of Darius Paduch, suspended urologist who worked on LI, accused of sexually abusing patients
An undated photo of Dr. Darius Paduch, who is on trial in federal court on charges he sexually abused patients in his practice as a urologist. Credit: Northwell Health
Jury selection began in the case of suspended urologist Dr. Darius Paduch, on trial in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting and abusing six minors and two adults, who attorneys say are only a small fraction of the actual number of victims.
Paduch, 56, who worked for New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health and, before that, Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan, is facing 13 felony counts that, if he is convicted, could put him in prison for life.
“During appointments, Paduch claimed that he needed to touch victims in certain ways to provide medical treatment, when in fact, Paduch sexually abused and assaulted those victims for no legitimate medical purpose and for his own sexual gratification,” a federal indictment states.
The indictment charges Paduch with seven counts of inducing a person to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity and six counts of inducing a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Paduch sat in a gray suit jacket, dark blue shirt, gray-blue tie and gray pants as he listened to U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Abrams question jurors at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in lower Manhattan. A few times Paduch glanced with a smile toward a man and woman seated nearby in the second row of benches. They later declined to identify themselves to a Newsday reporter.
Paduch has been in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his April 2023 arrest.
Jury selection began Wednesday and will continue Thursday. Potential jurors were from Manhattan, the Bronx, New Jersey and Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.
Paduch's specialties included male infertility, erectile dysfunction and genital abnormalities, and that made it easier for him to convince his victims that his physical contact with them was legitimate medical treatment or examinations, said Mallory Allen, an attorney with offices in Manhattan and Seattle who represents 130 plaintiffs in civil suits against Paduch. There are at least 500 civil suits in total, including those handled by other attorneys, she said, and the number continues to grow.
The true number of victims is much higher, because only a small number of victims of sexual abuse typically file lawsuits, Allen said.
Northwell, Weill Cornell Medicine or both are named as defendants in most of the civil suits.
Paduch worked at Northwell offices in Great Neck and Lake Success from 2019 until his arrest, according to court documents. He worked for Weill Cornell from 2003 to 2019, documents state.
Former Paduch patients and employees filed multiple complaints against the urologist with the health systems and with the state Department of Health, starting at least as far back as 2007, court papers state, but he was allowed to continue seeing patients.
Weill Cornell and Northwell have declined to comment, citing the criminal trial and civil litigation. Both said they are cooperating with law enforcement and are “disturbed” by the allegations.
The Department of Health, which received a complaint about Paduch in 2018 but according to public records did not take disciplinary action, also declined to comment.
State Commissioner of Health James McDonald suspended Paduch’s medical license a month after his arrest.
Jury selection began in the case of suspended urologist Dr. Darius Paduch, on trial in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting and abusing six minors and two adults, who attorneys say are only a small fraction of the actual number of victims.
Paduch, 56, who worked for New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health and, before that, Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan, is facing 13 felony counts that, if he is convicted, could put him in prison for life.
“During appointments, Paduch claimed that he needed to touch victims in certain ways to provide medical treatment, when in fact, Paduch sexually abused and assaulted those victims for no legitimate medical purpose and for his own sexual gratification,” a federal indictment states.
The indictment charges Paduch with seven counts of inducing a person to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity and six counts of inducing a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
Paduch sat in a gray suit jacket, dark blue shirt, gray-blue tie and gray pants as he listened to U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Abrams question jurors at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in lower Manhattan. A few times Paduch glanced with a smile toward a man and woman seated nearby in the second row of benches. They later declined to identify themselves to a Newsday reporter.
Paduch has been in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his April 2023 arrest.
Jury selection began Wednesday and will continue Thursday. Potential jurors were from Manhattan, the Bronx, New Jersey and Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.
Paduch's specialties included male infertility, erectile dysfunction and genital abnormalities, and that made it easier for him to convince his victims that his physical contact with them was legitimate medical treatment or examinations, said Mallory Allen, an attorney with offices in Manhattan and Seattle who represents 130 plaintiffs in civil suits against Paduch. There are at least 500 civil suits in total, including those handled by other attorneys, she said, and the number continues to grow.
The true number of victims is much higher, because only a small number of victims of sexual abuse typically file lawsuits, Allen said.
Northwell, Weill Cornell Medicine or both are named as defendants in most of the civil suits.
Paduch worked at Northwell offices in Great Neck and Lake Success from 2019 until his arrest, according to court documents. He worked for Weill Cornell from 2003 to 2019, documents state.
Former Paduch patients and employees filed multiple complaints against the urologist with the health systems and with the state Department of Health, starting at least as far back as 2007, court papers state, but he was allowed to continue seeing patients.
Weill Cornell and Northwell have declined to comment, citing the criminal trial and civil litigation. Both said they are cooperating with law enforcement and are “disturbed” by the allegations.
The Department of Health, which received a complaint about Paduch in 2018 but according to public records did not take disciplinary action, also declined to comment.
State Commissioner of Health James McDonald suspended Paduch’s medical license a month after his arrest.
David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.
