A former longtime pediatrician is accused of sexually assaulting 15 patients in his care, according to the Plymouth DA’s office.

Norwell man Richard Kauff, 68, has been indicted on nine counts of child rape and eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

He had worked as a pediatrician since 1983, and was most recently associated with South Shore Medical Center in Norwell. Kauff saw patients in both the Norwell and Kingston offices until he retired two years ago.

Then on Oct. 4, 2023, a person posted on a local Facebook group that they believed they were sexually assaulted during an annual checkup. People urged the victim to report the incident to Norwell Police.

A day later, another victim reported a similar incident to Norwell Police. Both of the victims said the alleged perp was Kauff.

Then after police sought charges against Kauff, more than three dozen people reported similar experiences with the former pediatrician.

After several months of investigation, the grand jury returned 17 indictments for 15 different victims, over a 23-year span.

Kauff, who’s out on $50,000 bail, is ordered to stay away and have no contact with the victims, or with the South Shore Medical Center offices in Norwell and Kingston.

Also, the DA’s office requested that he have no unsupervised contact with children under 16, that he surrender his passport, remain in Massachusetts, and relinquish his medical license.