A now former Massachusetts pediatrician accused of abuse by 24 girls, women, held on bail

HINGHAM – A Norwell man pleaded not guilty this week to charges that he sexually assaulted two patients during annual well-being checkups, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.

In Hingham District Court, Richard A. Kauff, 68, of Norwell, pleaded not guilty to four counts of Rape of a Child with Force, and 12 counts of Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child Under 14. The Commonwealth requested that Kauff be held on $100,000 cash bail with the conditions that he wear a GPS monitoring bracelet, stay away and have no contact with the victims or medical facilities in Norwell and Kingston. Additionally, the Commonwealth requested that Kauff have no unsupervised contact with children under 16, that he surrender his passport, remain in the Commonwealth, and relinquish his medical license. Judge Heather Bradley ordered Kauff held on $50,000 cash bail with all of the conditions except that he wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.

Since 1983 Kauff worked as a pediatrician and was most recently associated with South Shore Medical Center in Norwell. Kauff saw patients in both the Kingston and Norwell offices connected to South Shore Medical, until his retirement in 2022.
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On October 4, 2023, an anonymous person posted to Facebook that they were sexually assaulted during an annual checkup. Others replied to the Facebook post and urged the victim to report the incident to Norwell Police.

The following day, another victim reported to Norwell Police a similar incident. Both victims alleged the perpetrator was Kauff.

Preliminarily, the investigation has found that over a number of years, during annual well-being checkups, Kauff would allegedly sexually assault his patients.
2024.

According to WCVB, at least 24 female victims have come forward.

Kauff is next scheduled to appear in court on January 11.

The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with any information is urged to contact Norwell Police at 781- 659-7979, or Kingston Police at 781-585-0523.