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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 4 september 2019

Medical board to review nearly 2,000 ‘sexual boundary’ cases

By KANTELE FRANKO Ohio doctors who knew or a result, Pollock said. over 300 accusers whose should be dismissed.
Associated Press suspected Strauss’ miscon- A law firm that separately allegations span from 1979 The lawsuits are now in me-
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — duct and should have re- investigated allegations for to 1997 — nearly his entire diation toward a potential
The State Medical Board of settlement .
Ohio plans to review nearly Amid uncertainty in that
2,000 closed cases of al- process, some of Strauss’
leged sexual misconduct or accusers are urging the
impropriety by doctors over Ohio lawmakers to pass a
the past 25 years to deter- proposal that would spec-
mine whether any involved ify a legal opportunity for
evidence of criminal be- them to sue the university.
havior that was ignored, a Many of the accusers say
board spokeswoman said they were groped during
Tuesday. medical exams , but some
A review of such cases that describe even more exten-
were closed without ac- sive abuse.
tion was requested by Gov. At a legislative hearing
Mike DeWine last week af- Tuesday, a lawyer read
ter he learned that credible testimony from one anony-
evidence was ignored in a mous ex-wrestler who de-
1996 investigation of Rich- scribed being drugged and
ard Strauss, the now-de- violently raped by Strauss.
ceased Ohio State Univer- Another ex-wrestler, Hunter
sity team doctor accused Shepard, told lawmakers he
of sexually abusing athletes was molested 15 times by
and other young men for Strauss in the 1990s, mostly
nearly two decades before on a bed at the doctor’s
that probe. home, where some accus-
DeWine asked the medi- ers say Strauss had them go
cal board to review about for medical exams.
1,500 closed cases involv- Shepard said it’s still affect-
ing sexual assault allega- ing his mental health and
tions, but the board is cast- willingness to seek medical
ing a slightly wider net to care.
include allegations of “sex- “It’s a shame. Three-hun-
ual boundary” violations, dred people. ... This is on
board spokeswoman Tessie Ex-wrestler Hunter Shepard, who alleges he was repeatedly molested by now-deceased Ohio the same magnitude as
Pollock said Tuesday. That State University team doctor Richard Strauss in the 1990s, tearfully recounts his experience to an what happened at Michi-
description could include Ohio House legislative committee at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. gan State” with now-impris-
improper, non-physical in- Associated Press oned athletics doctor Larry
teractions that aren’t nec- Nassar, Shepard said.
essarily a crime, such as a ported it but didn’t. Board Ohio State concluded uni- career at the university. Strauss retired in 1998 with
doctor asking a patient out members immediately versity officials learned of The university has acknowl- a laudatory personnel file
for a date, Pollock said. began acting on that re- concerns about Strauss as edged its failure to stop and moved to California,
No timeline for the review quest but, under confiden- early as 1979 but did little to Strauss and publicly apol- where he kept his medical
has been set. tiality requirements, can’t stop him . ogized , but its formal re- license.
DeWine also asked the disclose whether any inves- Lawyers suing Ohio State sponses to the lawsuits ar- He died by suicide in 2005.
board to identify whether tigation or additional com- over Strauss’ misconduct gue the men’s claims were No one has publicly de-
there are any licensed plaint has been opened as say they now represent time-barred by law and fended him.q