"He wanted full control," Former patient details alleged sexual abuse by Dr. Derrick Todd
BOSTON – A former patient of rheumatologist Dr. Derrick Todd agreed to speak with WBZ-TV on the condition of anonymity, as she shared intimate details of the alleged sexual abuse perpetrated by Todd for years.
Todd is being sued by at least 150 former patients in multiple lawsuits for the alleged abuse, and patients tell WBZ they have been interviewed by Boston Police as part of a criminal investigation – one police have not yet confirmed.
"It was a years long trajectory," the woman said. "He attempted to isolate me from multiple specialists."
She began seeing Dr. Todd in 2014 for severe onset rheumatoid arthritis.
"At the beginning it was all about reducing my inflammation levels and getting me on the correct meds. I felt better. I was grateful. And he seemed incredibly competent and caring," she said.
A few years into her treatment is where she says things started taking a strange turn.
Dr. Todd, a Brigham and Women's rheumatologist at the time, continued asking her if she wanted him to become her primary care provider.
"It was incessant," she said.
She said no, but eventually, after some time, her primary care doctor retired, and since he had asked so often, she transitioned to Dr. Todd for primary care.
"He was in many ways overseeing a great part of my general health care already," she said.
Shortly after he became her primary care provider, she says Dr. Todd told her he was also available to do gynecological care.
"He knew I had a long-standing gynecologist" with whom she had given birth to her two children, she explained to WBZ. "He knew of these relationships, but it didn't stop him from again, repeatedly mentioning, asking… And I said no."
Then she says, the pattern grew more concerning.
She says Dr. Todd cast doubt on her gynecologist's motivations, pointing out that —in his opinion, she says— they conduct exams for the money.
"The grooming had clearly already started now in retrospect," she said. "He already had me as his patient on multiple levels. He had already begun the process of isolating me."
Again, the pattern repeated itself. Her gynecologist retired, and because Dr. Todd had offered so many times, she signed on with him.
Now, Dr. Todd was rheumatologist, gynecologist, and primary care provider. "It was only Dr. Todd," she said.
At this point, she says, things took a dark turn. She says Dr. Todd told her he could only see her at the smaller Charles River Medical Center in Framingham, in the early hours of the morning, when little to no staff was present.
It was her first appointment at Charles River where she says she was physically abused during a routine pap smear.
"It hurt a lot," she said. "I was bleeding from the pap. It wasn't the pap itself that hurt. It hurt because he didn't use lubricant on the speculum… And that was the first time in all my decades that that has happened."
At a subsequent appointment, she says Dr. Todd offered a pelvic floor massage – a procedure usually performed by her physical therapist. However, this so-called massage was unlike any she received.
"It was not therapy of any kind," she said. "It was straight out intended for one purpose, and because I was brainwashed…" she didn't say anything.
It was only months later, when reading about a New York case of sex abuse by a doctor, that she says she realized what happened to her.
"He pillaged, he took, he took from me, he took from his colleagues," she said. "He wanted full control, and isolation."
Dr. Todd's attorney Anthony Abeln provided the following statement to WBZ.
"Due to privacy laws, Dr. Todd cannot comment on the care provided to any specific patient," it read. "However, over the course of his twenty year career in medicine, Dr. Derrick Todd has been recognized as a skilled and accomplished rheumatologist, internist, and primary care physician. He has been fully cooperative with all investigations, including the Board of Registration in Medicine, and is confident that when all the facts are considered – or even litigated – these allegations will be proven to be without merit. All of that will take place in the appropriate forums and not in the context of a media frenzy or a rush to judgment."
Charles River Medical Associates addressed the ongoing allegations in a statement to WBZ.
"We have been reaching out to patients and providing them with an opportunity to report any concerns they have about care they received from Dr. Todd. CRMA and Brigham and Women's Hospital are separate entities. At no time, up until and including his last day at our Framingham office on July 26th of this year, did we receive, nor were we made aware of any complaints from patients, staff, or any other physicians about inappropriate conduct by Dr. Todd."
The patient who spoke with WBZ says she now sees all female doctors by choice.
"It's incredibly refreshing to be treated by people so professionally," she said.
If you are interested in learning ways to advocate for yourself with medical professionals, WBZ spoke with ethics experts about ways to help yourself.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault please visit the Boston Rape Crisis Center website, the RAINN website or the Mass.gov website.