29 more men accuse former Ohio State doctor of sexual abuse in new lawsuit
More than two dozen new men have come forward alleging that former Ohio State team doctor Richard Strauss sexually assaulted them at the university in a new lawsuit filed on Monday, according to The Associated Press.
The 29 men filed a federal lawsuit on Monday claiming that Strauss, who died in 2005, abused them at the university and alleged that the university did nothing to stop it.
One plaintiff, per the AP, said that Strauss abused him during more than 10 medical exams in the 1980s. That plaintiff also said the abuse started when he was just 16, when his high school team was competing on campus. Another in the lawsuit said that Strauss fondled him more than 50 times.
Most men in the new lawsuit, per the report, are listed anonymously and include baseball, lacrosse, cheerleading, soccer, football, basketball, gymnastics and fencing athletes.
The lawsuit is one of 23 filed against the school related to Strauss' abuse.
”The complaint filed today should serve as a reminder of the scale of the sexual abuse perpetrated by Dr. Strauss, Ohio State’s facilitation and concealment of the abuse to protect its own reputation, and the tremendous suffering these men have been experiencing ever since,” said Adele Kimmel, the director of Public Justice’s Students’ Civil Rights Project and a lawyer representing Strauss plaintiffs in multiple lawsuits against the university, via the Columbus Dispatch.
“As Ohio State continues to act dismissively towards the many hundreds of men it has betrayed for decades, we continue to urge survivors to come forward to demand accountability and secure a safer future for Ohio State students.”
Investigation found Strauss abused at least 177 men at Ohio State
An independent investigation in 2019 determined that Strauss abused at least 177 men across 16 sports while he worked at Ohio State from 1979-97.
Strauss has been accused of groping and fondling, performing unnecessary and prolonged genital and rectal exams, performing unwanted oral sex, requiring unnecessary nudity during exams, making inappropriate comments and more.
Strauss was also accused of loitering in the locker rooms and showering with athletes, and was given the nickname, “Dr. Jelly Paws.”
That investigation also found that multiple school officials knew of the abuse and did nothing to stop it.
Strauss retired in 1998 from the school. He committed suicide in 2005. The school has since apologized and reached a more than $40 million settlement last year.
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