Former Northwell urologist Darious Paduch's sexual assault conviction stands, judge rules, denying also a new trial

A federal judge rejected a bid by Dr. Darius Paduch, a former Northwell urologist convicted in May of sexually abusing multiple patients, to set aside the jury verdict and get a new trial.

On Friday, Judge Ronnie Abrams shot down arguments by defense lawyers for the doctor, currently being held behind bars in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center awaiting October sentencing, that the charges against him were unconstitutional.

Prosecutors accused Paduch, 57, a defendant in hundreds of lawsuits over his alleged misconduct, of luring patients, some underage, across state lines with the promise of fertility treatment for rare genetic disorders.

The doctor, who worked at Weill Cornell Medicine for 16 years before joining Northwell Health in Great Neck and Lake Success from 2019 until his arrest in 2023, would then fondle the patients or watch, and at times assist, them masturbate under the ruse that he needed a genetic sample. Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan argued at trial that his true intent was his own sexual gratification.

At trial, Krista Bevin, of Maryland, the mother of one of Paduch’s victims who testified under a pseudonym, said that her then-14-year-old son suffers from Klinefelter syndrome, a genetic disorder that inhibits fertility.

Prosecutors showed text messages from Paduch, of North Bergen, New Jersey, asking about the teen’s sexuality in an effort, they said, to groom the boy and entice him back to New York for treatment.

Bevins said that visits to Paduch would turn her son morose and he resisted returning to see the doctor.

"He would say, ‘Please don’t make me go,’ and I said, ‘I’m really sorry, but with your condition ….’ It was like a dentist appointment. He didn’t want to go."

On May 29, the jury convicted the doctor of the federal crime of coercion, which requires a state or federal sex offense to support the charge. In the case of Paduch, federal prosecutors said he was guilty of the underlying New York state offense of sexual abuse in the third degree, which refers to having sexual contact with someone without their permission, and carries a maximum penalty of 3 months in prison. The minimum sentence for the federal offense is 10 years.

In a motion to the judge, defense lawyer Michael Baldassare argued his client’s constitutional rights had been violated because the case was charged as a federal crime rather than a state crime.

"Dr. Paduch now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and likely far more as punishment," Baldassare wrote in his effort to secure a new trial. "All this because, in order to trigger federal jurisdiction, the government introduced evidence that someone other than Dr. Paduch drove into New York from another state or sent an email/used a phone."

In response, federal prosecutors attacked the defense attorney’s claim for its lack of supporting evidence, saying the "mere invocation of a constitutional provision is not a legal argument."

They also said the jury had found him guilty based on the facts provided at trial.

"The defendant is an unrepentant sex predator who preyed on countless children, for years. He was convicted following a trial that complied in all respects with the law and the dictates of due process," Assistant U.S. Attorney Marguerite Colson wrote in opposition to the motion for a new trial.

Abrams rejected Baldassare’s argument that Paduch’s rights were violated because the state charge carried less prison time.

The judge sided with the prosecutors, saying, "The evidence at trial demonstrated that Paduch knowingly persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced patients to travel in interstate commerce to engage in unlawful sexual activity."

Baldassare declined to comment on Abrams' decision.

Paduch's sentencing date has been set for Oct. 11.