More than 100 ex-students report sexual misconduct by late Ohio State doctor

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More than 100 former Ohio State University students reported “firsthand accounts” of sexual misconduct by a now-deceased school doctor for nearly two decades, the university said on Friday.

New details about the investigation of the late Dr. Richard Strauss were made public days after five former varsity wrestlers sued Ohio State over allegations Strauss had sexually abused them and others and that the university was complicit in failing to take action against him.

The allegations date from 1979 to 1997 from former athletes in 14 varsity sports and former patients of the student clinic, according to the school.

The university announced in April an investigation had been opened into Strauss in his former capacity as the Ohio State wrestling team physician.

Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, at a hearing in Washington, DC, July 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

The scandal has had implications for Ohio congressman Jim Jordan as several former student wrestlers have claimed he, who was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State between 1987 and 1995, knew about molestation by the doctor but did nothing to stop it.

The Republican, considered by some to be a possible contender to succeed the retiring House Speaker Paul Ryan, has denied knowing anything about abuse allegations at the time.

Strauss was a university staff physician during the 1970s, ‘80 and ‘90s for several varsity sports, the school’s medical center and student health clinic. He retired from the faculty in 1998 and committed suicide in 2005.

Similar sex scandals in recent years have embroiled top officials at several major US institutions of higher education, including Penn State University, Michigan State University and the University of Southern California.

Source(s): Reuters