Former CDC Director Arrested And Charged With Sexual Misconduct

Former CDC Director Arrested And Charged With Sexual Misconduct

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/640992992/former-cdc-director-arrested-and-charged-with-sexual-misconduct

Dr. Thomas Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was arrested and charged on Friday after he was accused of groping a woman, law enforcement officials said.

Detective Sophia Mason of the New York Police Department told NPR that the public health expert allegedly “grabbed a victim’s buttocks without her permission.” The incident was said to have happened last October in his home.

It was reported to police in July.

On Friday morning, Frieden, 57, turned himself in, a spokeswoman at the Brooklyn district attorney’s office told NPR.

He was charged with two misdemeanors and a violation: third-degree sexual abuse, forcible touching and harassment, the last of which carries a fine but no jail time.

Later in the day, Frieden was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court and released without bail. He had to give up his passport and Judge Michael Yavinsky issued an order of protection.

“This allegation does not reflect Dr. Frieden’s public or private behavior or his values over a lifetime of service to improve health around the world,” a spokeswoman for Frieden told NPR.

He served as director of the CDC from 2009 and until 2017, leading the response to the Ebola epidemic and the H1N1 swine flu pandemic. He stepped down as President Trump took office.

Prior to joining the federal agency, he was the New York City health commissioner, where he led a ban on smoking and the elimination of trans fats from restaurant menus.

In the ’90s, he led a program to control tuberculosis in New York, lowering incidences of multiple-drug resistance. That led to work with the World Health Organization’s TB program in India.

Earlier this year, he told WHO that he got into his line of work to help people. “Hiking through the mountains with my father, he commented that I was interested in health and politics and that public health combined both. … My father, an excellent physician, had a simple philosophy of life: You’ve got to help the people. I chose a career that would give me the privilege of helping as many people as I could.”

After he left the CDC, Frieden launched a $225 million initiative called Resolve to Save Lives, part of a nonprofit global health organization called Vital Strategies.

Its president and CEO, Jose Castro, told CNN that the groping accusation came from a friend who knew him and his family for more than 30 years. “In all of my experiences with him, there have never been any concerns or reports of inappropriate conduct,” he said.

He added that Vital Strategies had conducted an investigation in which every staff member of his team was interviewed. “This assessment determined there have been no incidents of workplace harassment,” he said. “Vital Strategies greatly values the work Dr. Frieden does to advance public health and he has my full confidence.”

Frieden’s next court date is scheduled for Oct. 11.

Correction Aug. 24, 2018

A previous version of this story incorrectly said creating the Resolve to Save Lives initiative cost $225. It was $225 million.

It has been reported that Frieden and Dr AK were friends in their early careers working for the NY health dept.  Maybe this is why AK was how he got the CDC to create the opiate dosing guidelines without having legal authority.  After the FDA told AK to “take a hike” with his proposal.

Also have the CDC released those guidelines… Frieden made several public announcements that the guidelines “did not bear the weight of law”, but seemingly not many – especially the VA and the DEA was not listening nor paying attention.

After all in a few months (Jan 2017) one way or another we were going to have a new President and Frieden would most likely be out of a job and maybe this was his final “swan song” ?

 

 

2 Responses

  1. Well its fun to squeeze chicks and all but that is personal space and always requires permission.

  2. Sounds like there are others things people get addicted to that are a danger, if not to your health, to your personal reputation and career. There’s nothing that won’t be revealed in good time. Good riddance to him.

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