Ex-CDC Chief, Former NYC Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden Arrested on Sex Abuse Charges

Former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thomas Frieden, who also had a seven-year stint as New York City’s health commissioner, has been arrested in Manhattan for allegedly groping a woman, police say. 

The 57-year-old Frieden, one of the world’s leading health experts, was taken into custody in Brooklyn Friday on charges of forcible touching, sexual abuse and harassment. The charges stem from an alleged incident at his Brooklyn Heights home in October in which a woman claimed he grabbed her buttocks against her will; that complaint was made on July 7, 2018, authorities say.

Attorney information for Frieden wasn’t immediately available. He is expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court later Friday.

Frieden ran the CDC for 12 years, from 2009 to 2017, by appointment of former President Barack Obama. He also was the administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

The married father of two oversaw the city’s Department of Health and Human Hygiene from 2002 to 2009, during which time the agency expanded the use of epidemiological data and launched the nation’s first community-based Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, among other initiatives.

He became renowned for his fight against heart disease, cancer and obesity and in 2017, launched the “Resolve” initiative, dedicated to saving 100 million lives over three decades by preventing heart attacks and strokes. He has published hundreds of peer-reviewed articles on various subjects and also introduced New York City’s first comprehensive health policy, targeting 10 leading causes of preventable illness and death via both public and personal accountability.

Frieden received medical and public health degrees from Columbia University and completed an infectious disease fellowship at Yale University. He has several honorary degrees.