A former South Shore Medical Center pediatrician was indicted in connection with the sexual assaults of 15 girls who were patients in his care, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz’s office announced.
Richard Kauff, 68, of Norwell, was indicted on nine counts of rape with a child with force and eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, Cruz’s office said in a statement released Friday.
Kauff is out of Hingham District Court on $50,000 cash bail with conditions of release. This includes staying away and having no contact with the victims or South Shore Medical Center facilities in Norwell and Kingston, Cruz’s office said. Kauff must also not have unsupervised contact with children under 16 years old, he must surrender his passport, stay in Massachusetts and let go of his medical license.
In November 2023, Kauff 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.
He worked since 1983 as a pediatrician and saw South Shore Medical Center patients in Kingston and Norwell until Kauff retired in 2022, Cruz’s office said.
On Oct. 4, 2023, an anonymous person posted on a Facebook group page that they thought they were sexually assaulted during an annual checkup, the district attorney’s office said. The post was met with replies telling the user to report the incident to Norwell police.
The next day, another person reported their own experience to Norwell police, resulting in the department seeking charges against Kauff, Cruz’s office said. Over three dozen individuals came forward to report similar experiences with Kauff.
An extensive grand jury investigation identified more victims “and the viability of prosecution on charges based on the analysis of statute of limitations and other legal issues,” Cruz’s office continued. The grand jury returned with 17 indictments for 15 different victims spanning over 23 years.
Kauff will be arraigned at a later date.
