Editor’s Note: This article discusses sexual assault in healthcare.
Weill Cornell Medicine agreed to pay over $1 billion to settle civil claims of patients who were sexually abused by former assistant professor and urologist Dr. Darius Paduch, and established a $10 million yearly fund for three years to support sexual misconduct prevention, according to a U.S. Department of Justice release.
The settlement comes after a federal investigation into Weill Cornell Medicine exposed institutional failures in how patient complaints against Paduch were handled, including a lack of centralized processes or standards for documenting or investigating complaints.
The release also states that former urology chair Dr. Peter Schlegel received several reports of Paduch’s inappropriate behavior and failed to escalate the allegations or conduct proper investigations into the claims.
Paduch was sentenced to life in prison in November 2024 for his yearslong sexual abuse of more than 50 patients, including six minors, from at least 2009 to 2019 under the guise of medical care. He was sentenced after being convicted on six counts of inducing a person to travel to engage in unlawful sexual activity and five counts of inducing a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
“Thanks to the work of our dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Darius Paduch is spending his life in prison for his horrific crimes and, importantly, WCM, a leader in healthcare for New Yorkers, is committed to maintaining an industry-leading sexual-abuse prevention program and to self-reporting any future federal crimes involving sexual misconduct to our Office,” wrote Criminal Division Chief Amanda Houle in a federal press release.
Paduch, who worked at Weill Cornell from 2003 to 2019, often conducted examinations with patients alone, and directed victims — including minors as young as 13 years old — to masturbate in his presence or with his help, in several instances penetrating patients’ rectums without gloves while masturbating them, according to the released federal indictment.
Paduch also “took various steps to cause, induce, and entice certain victims to return to see him,” and inappropriately communicated with patients using his personal cell phone. He invited several patients to his personal residence or boat where he “engaged in similar sexual abuse under the guise of medical treatment,” according to the settlement between Weill Cornell and the federal government.
Sentencing Judge Ronnie Abrams ’90 said that Paduch’s crimes were so horrific that it was the first time she sentenced someone to life in prison when it was not required, the Associated Press reported.
In a July 27 statement to the Cornell community, President Michael Kotlikoff and Dean of Weill Cornell Robert Harrington elaborated on the $30 million initiatives aimed at preventing future misconduct.
The initiatives include expanding Weill’s chaperone requirements for sensitive medical treatments, creating “a centralized process” for patient complaints, reporting and investigation of alleged sexual misconduct and developing “new escalation protocols” aimed at reducing the risk that sexual misconduct “could ever go undetected.”
The statement also announced the creation of the Institute for Safe Patient Care and Patient Empowerment, which will drive “dialogue and action by healthcare organizations for early identification and prevention of sexual misconduct.”
“As always, we want to be very clear that there is no place in our community — or in any medical institution — for the type of misconduct that occurred here,” Kotlikoff and Harrington wrote. “All of us at Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medicine are committed to learning from these events, continuing to strengthen our safeguards, and continuing to advance our mission of patient care, research, and education.”
Individuals facing difficult or harmful situations are encouraged to seek support. Members of the Cornell Community with concerns about rape and sexual assault can contact Cornell Health at 607-255-5155 for 24/7 support, and Victim Advocates from Cornell Health's SHARE Office can provide personal support and assistance.
Members of the Cornell community may consult with Student Support and Advocacy Services at studentsupport@cornell.edu or call Counseling and Psychological Services at 607-255-5155. Employees can call the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program at 607-255-2673.
For additional resources, visit health.cornell.edu/services/victim-advocacy. An Ithaca-based crisis line is available at 607-272-1616. The Tompkins County-based Advocacy Center is available at 607-277-5000. To report sexual assault, contact Cornell’s Title IX & Sexual Misconduct Office, which can be reached at 607-255-2242 or titleix@cornell.edu.
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences and a senior editor on the 144th Editorial Board. She was a features editor and assistant sports editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and can be reached at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
