Two dozen women have now accused a retired Massachusetts pediatrician of sexually assaulting and raping them while they were under his care as minors, according to reports.
dr. Richard Kauff was initially accused by two women who connected through a social media discussion group after one of them raised a question about annual review procedures, WCVB, NBC and CBS reported.
At Monday’s arraignment, Kauff pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of various types of assault, including rape and indecent assault and battery, CBS reported.
Kauff was indicted on Nov. 2, and by the time he was arraigned nearly three weeks later, 22 more prosecutors had come forward with allegations that “grew exponentially,” Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Beth Kusmin said in court, NBC reports. .
“We expect dozens more similar accusations,” he said, according to the media outlet.
The prosecution said that two of the 24 defendants are still minors, according to CBS.
The accusations began pouring in after one of the initial defendants asked a social media discussion group if it was standard practice to have vaginal penetration during a routine annual exam, media reported. She initially shared the information with her therapist who encouraged her to notify the police.
Another woman responded to the post and the two soon realized that they had both been treated by Kauff. Kauff allegedly performed these examinations on the two women for more than a decade, starting when they were eight years old, according to NBC.
“He would tell her it would be embarrassing and it might quote ‘feel like a rocket ship,'” Kusmin said.
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Kauff was released on $50,000 bail, according to WCVB, with the condition that he not leave the state or be around children under 16 unsupervised.
“He is heartbroken by these allegations and adamantly maintains his innocence,” Kelli Porges, his attorney, said in a statement to PEOPLE. “This is a witch hunt and I have every confidence that he will be freed.”
He is due back in court on January 11.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education