Doctor accused of sexual abuse by more than 200 former patients is charged with rape

A Massachusetts grand jury has indicted a doctor accused of sexually assaulting more than 200 former patients over a period of more than a decade.

Patients sued Dr. Derrick Todd, who was accused of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapies, breast exams, testicular exams and other unwarranted procedures on patients dating back to 2010. The DA’s Office District of Middlesex said in a statement Thursday that Todd had been charged earlier. that day for “two counts of rape alleging the sexual assault of two women.”

Todd pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Friday during which he was held on $10,000 bail. He was also ordered to stay away and have no contact with the victims, surrender his passport, surrender all medical licenses, not practice medicine, and not apply for new passports. or licenses, a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said.

The prosecutor’s office also said the two alleged assaults occurred in December 2022 and June 2023, and additional investigations into Todd’s conduct were ongoing.

The criminal case against Todd will likely expand, said William Thompson, an attorney with the Boston firm Lubin & Meyer, which represents more than 180 of the accusers.

“This is only the beginning of the criminal case against Dr. Todd, but it helps validate the civil lawsuits that Lubin & Meyer is pursuing on behalf of many of his former patients,” Thompson said. “Basically, this is a doctor who abuses his position. And take advantage of patients who trust him for his own personal sexual gratification.

Thompson added that the civil case against Todd is currently undergoing discovery. The Associated Press left a telephone message for Anthony Abeln, an attorney who represented Todd in the civil case, and Ingrid Martin, a criminal attorney who represented Todd.

Todd is a former rheumatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The lawsuit against him accused several other defendants, including the hospital, of knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it.

Brigham and Women’s received anonymous complaints about Todd in April 2023 and launched its own investigation. The hospital fired him in July. Todd then entered into a voluntary agreement with the Board of Registration in Medicine to cease practicing medicine anywhere in the United States.

Todd’s former workplaces have distanced themselves from the doctor since the allegations surfaced. His accusers range from teenagers to women in their 60s.

Paula Bliss, a victims’ advocate and partner at Justice Law Collaborative, a Massachusetts legal advocacy group, said Friday that the indictment was “a resounding moment of validation for the patients he sexually assaulted and the courageous survivors who revealed the truth about this affair. deplorable conduct of the so-called medical professional.