Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang’s wife said on Thursday she was sexually abused during her first pregnancy by a notorious Manhattan doctor who was accused of sexual abuse by 17 women.
Evelyn Yang told CNN she was assaulted in 2012 by convicted sex offender Dr. Robert Hadden while he was a practicing OBGYN at Columbia.
She decided to go public with the story after receiving messages of support from voters who wrote her and Andrew about their son’s autism.
The abuse started, Evelyn told the network, when she started visiting Hadden at Columbia in 2012 while she was pregnant with her first child.
Hadden, a serial sexual abuser, began asking Evelyn questions about her sex life that had nothing to do with her pregnancy. She later determined that he was grooming her for sexual abuse, she told CNN.
He also allegedly subjected her to long and frequent exams that were unnecessary for her treatment, she said.
During one exam, Hadden clearly abused her, Evelyn said.
“I was in the exam room, and I was dressed and ready to go. Then, at the last minute, he kind of made up an excuse,” she told CNN.
“He said something about, ‘I think you might need a C-section,’ and he proceeded to grab me over to him and undress me and examine me internally, ungloved,” she recalled.
“I knew it was wrong. I knew I was being assaulted,” she added.
After the abuse, Evelyn worked with the Manhattan DA’s office to build a case against Hadden. A number of other women had come forward with allegations against the doctor, who the DA’s office called a “serial sexual predator.”
Despite 17 women accusing him of sexual abuse, prosecutors eventually offered him a plea deal for one count of forcible touching and one count of sexual abuse. His abuse of Evelyn was not one he pleaded guilty to, according to CNN.
For punishment, Hadden had to register as a sex offender and lost his medical license, but avoided jail time.
In a statement, Andrew Yang told CNN he’s proud of his wife for sharing her story — and argued abuse victims deserve support and protection.
“I’m extraordinarily proud of Evelyn for telling her story, and my heart breaks every time I think of what she had to experience. She is my best friend and the bravest woman I know,” he said in the statement.
“No one deserves to be harmed and treated the way she and countless other women have been. When victims of abuse come forward, they deserve our belief, support, and protection,” he added.