December 11, 2007

NEW REARDON LAWSUITS INCLUDE RAPE CHARGE

Alleged victims also say doctor displayed gun.

The latest lawsuits against a West Hartford doctor include allegations that he raped one boy and brandished a gun in front of other youngsters.

The complaints against the late Dr. George Reardon were filed on behalf of a woman and five men who had contact with Reardon many years ago at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.

A man identified only as “John Doe #7” alleges that Reardon raped him anally against his will. In an interview, attorney Joel T. Faxon was more specific: “It was anal rape with the man’s penis -- classic rape, not a prostate exam. This was horrible, forcible rape perpetrated by Reardon repeatedly,” Faxon said.

On Monday, Stratton Faxon, a New Haven firm, filed complaints on behalf of other plaintiffs, alleging that Reardon had a concealed firearm in his office, which he displayed to some of the children. It was unclear from the complaint whether the display was a threat or an inducement. “It was probably a little of both,” said Faxon.

Some alleged victims were taken to the Hartford Gun Club as a sort of reward, the complaints state. Lawyers have said that Reardon, an endocrinologist, had claimed that he was examining the children as part of a study on adolescent development. The attorneys said there is no evidence that such a study was ever published.

Earlier this month, a cache of more than 50,000 slides and 8 mm movie reels was discovered in a false wall in Reardon’s former West Hartford home, during renovations. The homeowner notified West Hartford police, who characterized the images as pornographic.

Last week, Stratton Faxon partner Paul T. Edwards, of the Hartford office, filed suit on behalf of “John Doe #1.” Days later, Avon lawyer Susan K. Smith, of Smith & Moore, filed suit on behalf of two “John Roe” plaintiffs. Smith had sued Reardon in the mid-1990s on behalf of six clients. She was also involved in licensure hearings before the state board of health prior to Reardon’s death in 1998.

The plaintiffs all claim that St. Francis officials knew of, or should have known of, Reardon’s alleged behavior and negligently failed to stop him. St. Francis Hospital’s general counsel, Barry Feldman, called the information in the latest lawsuits “shocking.”

“As St. Francis has said before, our hearts go out to each and every victim of Dr. Reardon,” Feldman said. “We want the community and the victims to know that St. Francis, right up to its CEO, is taking this matter very, very seriously.”

He said the hospital hopes to resolve the issues promptly and fairly, “so the victims can get on with their lives and St. Francis can get back to devoting all of its attention and focus to the care we provide the community.”

‘Whole Families’

Smith, in an interview, said Reardon “went through whole families,” bringing groups of two, three and four siblings to his office at St. Francis to participate in the alleged studies. “The boys were posed in a sexually suggestive tableau,” in some photos, Smith said.

Plainville lawyer Kenneth Laska, of Segal & Laska, filed Monday on behalf of four brothers -- William, James, Patrick and John Roe #1.

“Children are very trusting,” Laska said. “When parents tell their children, ‘It’s OK, the doctor won’t hurt you,’ something like this affects the child’s trust in his parents. He doesn’t know who to trust.”

In Tuesday’s complaints filed by Stratton Faxon, the female plaintiff alleged that Reardon initially stalked her while she was an inpatient after a trauma. She contends that Reardon photographed her naked, in sexually explicit poses, “hovering over the genitals” of her sibling. She also claimed that she was forced to remain naked for extended periods of time “so Reardon could obtain sexual gratification.” The actions reduced the girl to tears, the complaint alleges.

Edwards said he has been interviewing additional plaintiffs at the rate of about five per day, and expects to file complaints at about that rate this week.

One reason so many plaintiffs are coming forward now, said Faxon, is because the initial complainants against Reardon in the 1990s were dismissed as having mental problems, or lying. “One reason these people did not come forward until now,” said Faxon, “is because when some did in the 1990s, they were accused of being mentally ill and completely fabricating the stories. They didn’t want to be subjected to that ridicule.”