Pediatrician charged with raping patients returns to court
- Dignity 4Patients
- Jan 9
- 2 min read
By Peter Blandino- The Patriot Ledger- 09/01/2026- [Plymouth, USA]- [Richard Kauff]
Richard Kauff, the Norwell pediatrician charged with raping his patients, returns to Brockton Superior Court for a pretrial hearing this week. Kauff practiced medicine at South Shore Medical Center for 40 years between 1983 and 2023.
The Friday, Jan. 9, court date is the first in the hearing since Oct. 14. Proceedings paused as Kauff's attorney, Kelli Porges, served as co-counsel for the defense in the Brian Walshe murder trial.
In June 2024, a Plymouth County grand jury indicted Kauff on 11 counts of rape of child with force and nine counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. Testimony from 18 witnesses alleging sexual assaults dating from 1996 to 2020 led to the indictments, court documents show.
Over the last two years, 22 women and girls have filed civil suits in three separate cases against Kauff and South Shore Medical Center, claiming Kauff sexually abused the plaintiffs under the guise of medical care. The suits claim South Shore Medical Center failed to maintain institutional protections against abuse.
At the October hearing, Porges spoke about difficulties obtaining the identities of complaining witnesses in the criminal case against Kauff who are also suing him in civil court anonymously under the name Jane Doe.
Civil suits based on criminal charges can create financial motive for a complaining witness to falsify testimony and secure a criminal conviction, Porges wrote in a discovery motion.
The South Shore pediatrician's sexual abuse case
On Oct. 4, 2023, a former patient of Kauff posted anonymously to a local Facebook page that she was sexually assaulted during regular annual checkups.
Another woman replied, saying she had similar experiences. In the ensuing exchange of messages, the women discovered they had the same pediatrician, Kauff, at South Shore Medical Center, according to a Norwell police report.
Following Kauff's initial arraignment in Hingham Superior Court, dozens of women and girls came forward with similar allegations of sexual abuse against Kauff.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article and were abused in state run medical and health facilities, you can contact Dignity4Patients, whose helpline is open Monday to Thursday, 10am to 4pm.
Dignity4Patients Commentary: When a patient enters a medical practice, they reasonably expect that the doctor and all medical practitioners will act with their best interests at heart. A doctor holds a significant position of power and authority over patients, and with this comes an unequivocal responsibility to uphold their duty of care.
