Former CDC head Thomas Frieden arrested on sex abuse charge
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NEW YORK - Dr Thomas R. Frieden, who ran the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for eight years under President Barack Obama, was arrested in Brooklyn on Friday morning (Aug 24) on a sex abuse charge after an incident in October 2017, police said.
A 55-year-old woman came forward to police in July and said that Frieden, described by authorities as an acquaintance, grabbed her buttocks against her will nine months earlier, on Oct 20, at his residence on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, police said.
Frieden, who was taken into custody at the 77th Precinct in Crown Heights, was expected to appear before a judge in Kings County Criminal Court later Friday.
He was also charged with forcible touching and harassment, police said.
Frieden, 57, stepped down from the agency in January 2017 and went on to run a health initiative that focuses on heart health and epidemic preparedness.
Frieden had served as New York City's health commissioner from 2002 to 2009 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
