Former South Shore pediatrician accused of assaulting patients faces new charges

BROCKTON - A retired Massachusetts pediatrician was in court Friday, where he faced new charges of sexually assaulting two dozen young patients over his decades-long career.

Accused of invasive exams on children

Dr. Richard Kauff, who worked at South Shore Medical Center in Norwell and Kingston, is accused of sexually assaulting 24 patients. The investigation began when two women connected in a Facebook group and questioned whether their annual physical exams with Kauff were normal. Twenty-two other alleged victims have since come forward . According to the prosecution, they all detailed similar invasive exams that took place over several years, with some saying they began when they were just 8 years old.

Kauff now faces numerous additional charges, including 11 counts of rape of a child with force and 9 counts of indecent assault and battery of a child. He pleaded not guilty to all the counts on Friday.

"Very upsetting day for him"

"Dr. Kauff is innocent, for 40 years of a career, treating generations of children, not a whisper of an impropriety. These allegations are spurned by civil suits that have been filed and complete hysteria. This was a very upsetting day for him and he is absolutely innocent," his attorney Kelli Porges, said outside the courthouse.

Kauff was released on $50,000 bail after his first round of charges last November. That bail was transferred Friday under the conditions that he has no unsupervised interactions with minors outside of his young grandson and he vow not to practice as a pediatrician, among other requirements.

Kauff is due back in court on Sept. 17.