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| - The wife of US Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has told how she was sexually assaulted by her doctor while pregnant, explaining that being on the campaign trail persuaded her to share her experience. Evelyn Yang told CNN she was among 32 women suing the doctor and New York hospital after she discovered her assaulter was a "serial predator" as other victims came forward. Obstetrician Robert Hadden separately pleaded guilty in 2016 to two charges against him -- one count of forcible touching and one count of third-degree sexual abuse. In a plea deal, Hadden lost his medical license and was registered as the lowest-level sex offender, but did not go to jail. "Something about being on the trail and meeting people and seeing the difference that we've been making already has moved me to share my own story about sexual assault," Yang said in a TV interview broadcast Thursday. "Everyone has their own #MeToo story. It's far too prevalent. "Not everyone has the audience or platform to tell their story, and I actually feel like I'm in this very privileged position to be able to do that." Yang, 38, said she was assaulted by Hadden in 2012 when seven months pregnant with her first child, and had at first not even told her husband Andrew Yang. "I was in the exam room, and I was dressed and ready to go. Then, at the last minute, he kind of made up an excuse. He said something about, 'I think you might need a C-section,' and he proceeded to grab me over to him and undress me and examine me internally, ungloved," she told CNN. "I remember trying to fix my eyes on a spot on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face as he was assaulting me, just waiting for it to be over." "This was a serial predator, and he just picked me as his prey." Hadden denied the accusations and Columbia University, where he worked, was fighting the lawsuit on procedural grounds, according to CNN. Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang is an outsider in the Democratic race to take on Donald Trump in the November election, currently polling at under five percent. But he has run a widely-admired campaign and surprised many analysts by building up a significant funding and a base of loyal supporters. "I hope that Evelyn's story gives strength to those who have suffered and sends a clear message that our institutions must do more to protect and respond to women," he said in a statement. bgs/ec
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