Ben Crump, a nationally recognized civil rights attorney, filed a lawsuit Monday against Ohio State on behalf of the victims of Richard Strauss after the university’s creation of an individual settlement program. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Ben Crump, a nationally recognized civil rights attorney, filed a lawsuit against Ohio State on behalf of victims of former university physician Richard Strauss Monday.
Crump encouraged victims of Strauss to come forward to seek justice before May 15, according to the press release. He said the Strauss Individual Settlement Program that the university created restricts participation and re-victimizes those who came forward to report abuse because the settlement program was announced publicly rather than conferred between legal teams with a mediator.
“This was a grotesque perversion of power that deeply harmed people’s lives,” Crump stated in the release. “It is not for OSU to cherry pick which survivor gets to participate in a settlement program.”
The filing comes after Ohio State’s notice of intent to provide an individual settlement program for at least 100 victims of Strauss involved in five open lawsuits. The program, of which details became available Friday, would provide up to $252,551 and amounts would be determined by a tiered system.
The tiers range from the cost of counseling for those who “come forward with story of personal impact” to $250,000 for those who were anally raped or otherwise endured “significant sexual acts,” according to the program protocol. The settlement amounts will be administered by Matthew Garretson, who served as the independent special master in the March 6, 2020 and Oct. 12, 2020 settlements involving 185 Strauss victims.
Strauss was a physician at the university’s Student Wellness Center and the team doctor for 17 varsity sports from 1978-98. An independent investigation found in May 2019 that Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students and student-athletes during his time at the university and that Ohio State failed to act.
Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
In the release, Crump stated the university is “telling one group of survivors in the public domain, outside the confidential mediation process, the abuse they suffered has no value re-victimizes those they should be trying to help heal.” Crump said the university’s public announcement of the program was not an attempt for Ohio State to repair the damage done, but rather an attempt to “selfishly repair OSU’s image.”
Crump has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Crump also worked with the family of Andre Hill, a Black man fatally shot by Columbus Police in December 2020.
Attorneys representing 121 victims of Strauss filed a statement condemning the settlement program in the U.S. Southern Ohio District Court Wednesday, stating the university violated the court’s rules by discussing settlement offers through public court filings, rather than privately between counsel.
Qualifications for the program require claimants to be male, have attended the university during the time Strauss was employed, were examined — and abused or harassed — by him, did not participate in the previous settlements and are a part of one of the five open Strauss abuse cases. Plaintiffs are also only allowed to participate through their counsel.
The program is open until midnight Sept. 4. More information can be found here.
“Ohio State remains committed to acknowledging the condemnable behavior of a medical doctor who so clearly betrayed his position of power and trust,” University President Kristina M. Johnson said in a statement Friday. “We once again thank the survivors for coming forward and the courage to bring this abuse to light.”
Are you a victim of sexual abuse, harassment or assault by former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss?
