By Charles Apotheker
I remembered being placed against a wall naked with my hands extended out towards him. And then I remember the picture-taking. Pictures of my naked 13-year-old body, followed by measurements of my penis. Then it all went blank.
When revelations came to light that Dr. Reginald Archibald, a well-respected pediatric endocrinologist at the Rockefeller University Hospital, had spent decades sexually abusing young boys under the guise of medical “treatment,” I was flooded with memories that I thought were tightly sealed away in a mental box from 60 years ago.
When the hospital’s own attorneys released a report recently confirming that Rockefeller University officials knew about the abuse but allowed it to continue, I got angry. I remembered being taken to a hospital by my mother and being led into an examination room by this white-haired doctor. I remembered being alone with Dr. Archibald and being told to take off all my clothes. I remembered being placed against a wall naked with my hands extended out towards him. And then I remember the picture-taking. Pictures of my naked 13-year-old body, followed by measurements of my penis. Then it all went blank.
Until recently, claims against Rockefeller University in New York State would have been time-barred by law, blocking victims today from bringing actions against perpetrators of past child sex abuse. However, the passage of the Child Victims Act now allows adults who were abused as children to renew these claims and finally hold institutions that served as breeding grounds for predators to account for their role in enabling and covering up the crimes of those they protected.
And while recent legislation will provide a limited opportunity for victims of Dr. Archibald and Rockefeller University to file a civil action, it’s also time for the Manhattan District Attorney to launch a full-scale investigation, starting with its own investigation in 1960, about who knew what and when, and who made the decision to cover it up.
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