Former Columbia doctor Robert Hadden wants sex abuse trial moved out of Manhattan

A former Columbia University gynecologist accused of sexually abusing dozens of his patients for nearly 20 years wants a change of venue for his federal trial, claiming he got too much bad publicity.

Robert Hadden is charged federally with preying on patients between 1993 and 2012 with sexual procedures he convinced them were medically necessary. One of the seven victims was a minor when he allegedly abused her.

Hadden, 62, got a jail free plea deal on similar charges from Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance in 2016.

His case was highlighted by Manhattan DA candidates who claimed that Vance’s sex crimes unit went to soft on the pervy doc.

Now Hadden’s lawyers claim the race has tainted his federal jury pool.

“The hotly-contested Manhattan DA’s race, over the last year, also repeatedly focused on the DANY Prosecution of Mr. Hadden. The candidates linked Mr. Hadden with Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein as prime examples of the outgoing DA’s mishandling of sex crimes,” defense attorney Deirdre Von Dornum wrote in a motion to get the charges dismissed or moved to a different jurisdiction.

“Alvin Bragg, now the presumptive Manhattan DA... concluded his campaign by mailing out thousands of flyers to Manhattan voters — the Southern District jury pool — denouncing the leniency showed to Mr. Hadden and assuming his guilt,” the motion reads.

Hadden’s lawyers also claim the charges should be tossed because some of the conduct overlaps with what he pleaded guilty to in 2016. They argue his agreement in that case, “expressly provided protection from future prosecutions for the charges in the DANY indictment as well as for all ‘similar crimes’ then known to the DANY.”

Prosecutors in the Southern District did not immediately respond to the motions.

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