WALTHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A 43-year-old Brookline man accused of tricking a woman into ending her pregnancy by secretly giving her medication was arraigned Tuesday in Waltham District Court, with the judge setting bail at $100,000.
Prosecutors said Robert Kawada met a woman on a dating app in January, and after ending the relationship in March, he found out she was pregnant. Kawada allegedly gave the woman cookies with a labor-inducing ingredient in them, as well as a medication he disguised as iron pills. Investigators believe the medication was Misoprostol, which is used to end a pregnancy.
“He then instructed the victim how to take those pills in a particular manner, specifically in between her cheeks and teeth and allow them to dissolve rather that swallowing them, which becomes significant because that is the method in which abortion medication is prescribed,” prosecutor Jacob McCrindle said in court.
Authorities said Kawada advised the woman about her pre-natal health, saying his father was an OB-GYN doctor. His father was in court Tuesday, but declined to comment on his son’s case.
Prosecutors explained that the woman got calls from someone who claimed to be a nurse informing her to take Kawada’s iron pills. After doing so, police said the woman had a miscarriage and later learned the nurse was not connected with her doctor’s office.
Police conducted an investigation and found various web searches on Kawada’s cell phone, including “misoprostol when does fetus pass,” “no reaction to misoprostol,” “telephone voice changer,” and “criminal defense lawyer,” prosecutors said.
“We look forward to a full and complete investigation of the case and a fair jury trial, as my client is entitled to under the Constitution,” said Dmitry Lev, Kawada’s defense attorney, outside of court.
If Kawada is able to meet the bail, he will be required to wear a GPS ankle bracelet, stay away from the woman he allegedly poisoned, stay in the state of Massachusetts, and hand over his passport.
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