by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTROOM, Nov 20 – Urologist Darius Paduch was arrested and arraigned on April 11, 2023. Inner City Press was there.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave held Paduch's arraignment.
Though Paduch had filled out the affidavit to get a publicly paid lawyer, the CJA on duty David Stern said he was for now only representing him for the presentment, and possibly to put together co-signers for a bail package. He consented to detention.
Paduch was in a t-shirt, with left arm tattoos and boots untied, now without laces. Stern said there are many medical issues.
The bail application, Stern said, may be Monday. Judge Cave notes that she will no longer be presiding in the Mag Court then. But Inner City Press will be there.
More including analysis on Substack here
The prosecutors said: From at least in or about 2015 through at least in or about 2019, PADUCH, while working as a urologist, enticed and induced multiple victims to travel to his medical offices at Medical Institution-1, so PADUCH could, among other things, sexually abuse the victims. In or about 2019, PADUCH began practicing at a different hospital located in Long Island, New York (“Medical Institution-2”), where he continued to sexually abuse patients."
On April 19 Paduch's counsel submitted a letter to Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis for release on bail, attaching his TIAA retirement ($1,500,000) Citibank home equity ($400,000) and name of his life partner and proposed co-signer, Robert Lischer. "The couple is also parenting a nine year old son they adopted together in 2020."
Another proposed co-signer: Jordan Roosma; "he met Dr. Paduch as a patient at 13 years old." Also, Paduch's cousin Jadwiga Wojcik, employed at Greene, Tweed & Company.
But he was denied.
On May 16, Paduch's counsel filed the motion, stating that Paduch "has a loving husband, Robert Lischer, and a son, William. He currently resides in North Bergen, New Jersey... a very different defendant than Jeffrey Epstein."
On May 24, the bail hearing. Inner City Press was there, thread here.
On December 21, Paduch's counsel wrote in that the AUSA Attorney's Office conveyed to him that "JR" wanted his name redacted. Inner City Press had already published it, above: Jordan Roosma.
On December 22 Judge Abrams temporarily redacted the entirety of the paragraph, at least until January 5, while noting Judge Kaplan's granting of Inner City Press' application to unseal SBF's suretors.
This as the US Attorney's Office similarly "takes no position" on the sealing of all of OneCoin convict Sebastian Greenwood's sentencing letter, which has required Inner City Press to waste its time (and money - a $405 filing fee) appealing to the Second Circuit. There are other cases in the SDNY were after-the-fact sealing is causing free press problems. In US v. Paduch, on January 2 Inner City Press filed opposition, docketed on January 3 (and now on our DocumentCloud here
On April 29 in Courtroom 218, Paduch's lawyer was questioning a doctor on the witness stand. It was unwieldy, as the patients being asked about were all by pseudonym, but the lists they had were of real names. The lawyer went over to retrieve a binder of exhibits - which he said were all sealed.
Docketed on May 6, Judge Abrams ruled: "ORDER as to Darius A Paduch: Before the Court is the Governments motion in limine regarding Dr. Deryn Strange's testimony. The Government's motion is granted in part and denied in part. In addition to the undisputed areas of testimony, the Court will permit testimony as to the following: Dr. Strange's opinions under the heading "Expectancy and [M]otivation," which includes, in part, her opinion that information acquired over time can change how people interpret earlier events; Dr. Strange's opinions under the heading "Memory Distortion and False Memories," which includes, in part, her opinion that the information that people learn from others can influence how they later recall an event; Dr. Strange's opinions under the heading "Possible Sources of Suggestive Influence," which includes, in part, her opinion that the influence of other sourcessuch as media, retelling of a story, therapy, and dreamscan lead to the formation of false memories; and Dr. Strange's opinions under the heading "Psychopathology," which includes, in part, her opinion that a history of trauma can increase the likelihood of memory distortion. The Court will not permit testimony as to the following: Dr. Strange's opinion that memory is subject to forgetting; Dr. Strange's opinions under the heading "Low IQ," which includes, in part, her opinion that individuals with borderline IQ scores are more prone to suggestibility and acquiescence unless Defendant identifies evidence for the Court that any of the former patients have a low or borderline IQ score, or studies that support the proposition that patients with Klinefelter Syndrome are more prone to suggestibility or acquiescence; and Dr. Stranges opinions in the concluding section of her report that bear specifically on the former patients' memories. The parties should be prepared to discuss the draft jury charge after testimony on Monday, May 6, 2024."
They did, and closing arguments were May 7.
On May 8 the jury found Paduch guilty on all 11 counts.
On August 2 Paduch's motion under Rule 33 was denied as Judge Abrams found his convictions were not unconstitutional because they rely on a less serious underlying provision: NY Penal Law Section 130.55.
On August 23, Paduch through counsel asked to further delay his sentencing, to mid-November.
It was set for November 20. On November 12, Paduch's lawyer wrote in noting that Probation recommends 30 years, but asking for 10 years.
On November 15 the US Attorney's Office wrote in asking for "at least 30 years' imprisonment."
On November 20 in large courtroom 110, after the mother of one of Paduch's victim spoke at length asking for a life sentence like she said she and her son face, Paduch was sentenced to life in prison.
The case is US v. Paduch, 23-cr-181 (Abrams)
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