Nearly two dozen more victims of former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss are suing the university for failing to address and prevent Strauss’ sexual abuse. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
More victims of former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss are suing the university for failing to address and prevent his sexual abuse and to remedy hostile conditions at Larkins Hall — and argue the university violated Title IX law in doing so.
In a pair of lawsuits filed in the U.S. Southern District Court of Ohio Thursday, 23 more victims came forward saying Strauss sexually assaulted and harassed them during medical exams. The lawsuits argue that because the university knew of Strauss’ sexual abuse and the sexually predatory conditions in former athletic facility Larkins Hall, the university failed to fulfill obligations under Title IX to address complaints of abuse and in doing so created a hostile environment.
“OSU officials not only had actual notice of Strauss’ criminal and unlawful actions, they aided, abetted, and actively concealed Strauss’ sexual predation on OSU’s students,” one lawsuit states.
The lawsuits also include the first female plaintiff, who stated Strauss gave her a long and invasive breast exam.
University spokesperson Ben Johnson referred back to the university’s previous statements regarding Strauss victims.
Strauss was the team doctor for 17 varsity sports and a physician at the university’s Student Wellness Center from 1978-98. An independent investigation in May 2019 found that Strauss abused at least 177 students and student-athletes during his tenure and that Ohio State failed to act.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
Most of the plaintiffs were student-athletes who were required to see Strauss for physicals and other exams. Many stated Strauss assaulted them during these appointments, including conducting long and medically unnecessary genital and rectal exams and “notoriously long and thorough” hernia checks.
All plaintiffs stated they weren’t aware Strauss’ behavior was sexual assault until the Perkins Coie report came out in May 2019. The lawsuits argue that despite widespread knowledge of his exams — which the Perkins Coie report found was reported to coaches and other team doctors as early as 1979 — the university did not properly investigate Strauss’ abuse and did not take steps to prevent further abuse.
“Some Plaintiffs came to believe that Strauss’ examinations were a necessary part of their participation in intercollegiate athletics that was like a ‘hazing,’” both lawsuits state.
The lawsuits also argue the university created a sexually hostile environment under Title IX at Larkins Hall, the former athletic facility where many sports teams were based. As in previous lawsuits, these lawsuits state Larkins Hall fostered an “aggressively voyeuristic culture” where non-athletes — including university faculty — would watch student-athletes as they showered and often approached them for sexual encounters.
Strauss had a locker in every locker room of Larkins Hall, according to the lawsuits. Several plaintiffs stated Strauss would watch them as he groped himself in the shower.
One unnamed plaintiff, a wrestler, said he was sexually assaulted by someone while he was in the shower. According to the lawsuits, wrestling coach Russ Hellickson was aware of this assault and other misconduct and complained to the university about the environment inside Larkins Hall.
The lawsuits claim Hellickson requested a separate shower room for the wrestling team and for the team to be moved to another building because “the conditions seriously impacted the psyche and morale of his wrestlers.” The university denied his requests, according to the lawsuits.
Larkins Hall was demolished in 2005.
The additional lawsuits come about two weeks after former director of Student Health Services Dr. Ted Grace surrendered his Ohio medical license to the state medical board for failing to report Strauss’ sexual abuse — and as his Illinois medical license is under review.
During a March 2020 medical board deposition into Grace’s failure to report Strauss’ abuse, Grace testified that he was aware of three complaints made by students in the 1990s. Grace didn’t report any of these complaints to the medical board, according to a medical board letter sent to Grace July 8, 2020.
Two complaints from 1995 were from students who said Strauss performed inappropriate genital exams on them. Grace gave Strauss a verbal warning after the second complaint and falsely told the student there had been no other complaints made against Strauss, according to the letter.
Grace was made aware of a third complaint in January 1996 after a student exited an exam screaming that Strauss was a “pervert” and “crazy.” The student’s medical chart was ripped up and lab work was discarded. Grace then suspended Strauss from seeing students at the Student Health Center, the July 8 letter reads.
This story was updated April 30 at 10:21 a.m. to include the university’s response.
