Former Brigham and Women's doctor pleads not guilty to 81 new counts of sexual assault

Dr. Derrick Todd, the former rheumatologist who hundreds of patients allege sexually abused them under the guise of medical care, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to 81 new counts of sexual assault.

Todd was indicted last week on the charges involving 22 former patients ages 17 to 56. Prosecutors say Todd fondled and vaginally penetrated female patients, falsely claiming that the procedures were necessary for their treatment.

Todd was released on personal recognizance with GPS monitoring and ordered to adhere to a curfew of 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., according to court records.

Todd also faces charges in Middlesex County, including 22 counts of rape and indecent assault and battery.

“This is an extraordinary set of indictments, not just for the sheer volume of charges and number of women assaulted, but for the fact that all these women were violated by one person,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said at a press conference on Tuesday. “Simply put, the scale of victimization and the magnitude of trauma left in the wake of these allegations is something we have never encountered.”

Over 200 former patients joined a lawsuit two years ago that accused Todd of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapy, breast examinations, testicular examinations and rectal examinations. His alleged abuse spanned over a decade across his time working at two Brigham and Women’s Hospitals in Boston and a Framingham physician office.

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and Charles River Medical Associates are among the defendants accused of failing to stop Todd while knowing of his abuse.

Todd voluntarily agreed to stop practicing medicine in Massachusetts and any other state in 2023, according to an agreement with the Board of Registration in Medicine.

Todd will return to Suffolk County Superior Court for a pretrial hearing on June 8.