Doctor Indicted for Rape Following Sexual Abuse Allegations from Over 200 Patients

A grand jury in Massachusetts has indicted a doctor accused of sexually assaulting more than 200 former patients over the span of more than a decade. Dr. Derrick Todd is accused of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapy, breast examinations, testicular examinations, and other unwarranted procedures on patients dating back to 2010.

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that Todd was indicted for “two counts of rape alleging the sexual assault of two women.” Todd pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Friday. The alleged assaults occurred in December 2022 and June 2023, and the district attorney’s office stated that additional investigations into Todd’s conduct are ongoing.

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

“It’s just the beginning of the criminal case against Dr. Todd, but it does help validate the civil claims that Lubin & Meyer is pursuing on behalf of so many of his former patients,” Thompson said. “Fundamentally, it’s about a doctor abusing his position. And taking advantage of patients who put their trust in him for his sexual gratification.”

Thompson also mentioned that the civil case against Todd is currently in the discovery phase.

The Associated Press left a telephone message with Anthony Abeln, an attorney who has represented Todd in the civil case, and Ingrid Martin, a criminal lawyer who has represented Todd.

Todd, a former rheumatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, has been accused in a lawsuit filed by several other defendants, including the hospital, for knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it. In April 2023, Brigham and Women’s received anonymous complaints about Todd and launched an investigation, eventually firing him in July. Todd reached a voluntary agreement with the Board of Registration in Medicine to stop practising medicine in the United States.

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

Paula Bliss, an attorney for victims and partner with Justice Law Collaborative, a Massachusetts legal advocacy group, called the indictment “a resounding moment of validation for the patients he sexually assaulted and the brave survivors who came forward with the truth of this so-called medical professional’s deplorable conduct.”