A former West Point cadet who admitted to drugging his girlfriend and giving her abortion medication without her consent is now facing a civil lawsuit seeking unspecified damages. The woman, who was also a cadet at the time, says the incident caused her to lose a pregnancy she wanted to continue.
Caleb Suh pleaded guilty in June to assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to a dating partner. The assault took place in March 2022. He is still awaiting sentencing.
At a court hearing, Suh said he used the woman’s identity to open an account with an online pharmacy and ordered abortion medication by mail. He also said he got Xanax from a friend to use as a sedative, then tricked his girlfriend into drinking what he described as a prenatal protein shake. After she fell asleep, he put the pills in her mouth and vagina.
The lawsuit says Suh left the woman alone while she was incapacitated and did not respond when she tried to contact him after waking up and realizing she was bleeding. She was taken to the hospital. While she was being treated, the complaint says, Suh returned to the pharmacy website and asked whether doctors could detect the medication.
The woman’s lawyer, Russell Kornblith, said she is still coping with a life-changing event and will continue to do so. He said the lawsuit was filed in the hope of preventing similar harm to anyone else.
Erin Hawley, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom who is not representing the woman, described the case as a horrific experience. She said the woman was drugged and assaulted despite wanting to have the child, and that the incident caused significant trauma as well as the loss of the pregnancy.
Hawley also criticized the rules allowing abortion medication to be sent by mail without an in-person visit. Alliance Defending Freedom has challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s 2023 decision to remove the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone.
The assault happened in March 2022, before that 2023 decision. The FDA had temporarily stopped enforcing the in-person requirement in April 2021 during the COVID-19 public health emergency. It announced plans to remove the requirement permanently that December, and the change took effect in January 2023. The agency has said it made the decision after reviewing available evidence; other restrictions, including requirements for prescribers, remained in place.
Suh apologized in court in June, saying he was deeply sorry for his actions and the pain he caused.
His sentencing was postponed at his lawyer’s request until Jan. 21, 2027, so he can finish the semester at Columbia University. Prosecutors did not object to the delay. Suh has also been taking a three-month life-skills course for people facing federal charges, according to a letter from his lawyer to the court.
Suh attended Cornell University after leaving West Point and graduated this year. Cornell said he indicated on his application that he had not been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at a previous institution. The university said West Point had reported that he was in good academic standing and eligible to return. At Cornell, Suh was involved in health and medicine and hoped to become a physician.
In September, he began a master’s program at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health. A person familiar with the matter said applicants are not asked about criminal records but are asked whether they have faced student-conduct discipline or poor academic performance. The person also said Suh’s application did not mention prior disciplinary proceedings.
