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PROVO — More criminal charges have been filed against a Utah County OB-GYN who is the subject of a lawsuit filed on behalf of nearly 100 women who claimed he abused them.
David Harrison Broadbent, 77, was charged Tuesday in 4th District Court with a total of 12 counts of object rape, a first-degree felony; and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, in three separate cases.
In November, amended charges were filed in another case in 4th District Court accusing him of object rape, a first-degree felony; and forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
The new charges account for three women who say they were sexually abused by Broadbent in 2014, all while getting check-ups during their pregnancies.
In 2022, 94 women filed a lawsuit against the doctor, claiming they were sexually assaulted while getting medical care from Broadbent and that he made insensitive, offensive and inappropriate remarks, performed unnecessary intimate exams and used his hands to touch them in sensitive areas for his own gratification when not medically necessary.
Broadbent surrendered his license to practice after the lawsuit was filed. However, 4th District Court Judge Robert C. Lunnen dismissed the lawsuit three months later, stating that the allegations should be part of a medical malpractice suit and that he did not have jurisdiction over the issues raised.
The women appealed the decision to the Utah Supreme Court, which overturned the lower court's decision in August, stating that sexual assault is not a malpractice issue. According to an amended complaint filed in December, 217 women are now suing Broadbent in the ongoing civil lawsuit. The next court hearing in the civil case is scheduled for Feb. 18.
