LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Another 25 women have filed suit against USC alleging sexual abuse by a former longtime campus gynecologist, Dr. George Tyndall.
The plaintiffs are identified only as Jane Does 138-162 in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit and all are former undergraduate and graduate students who attended USC from the 1980s through 2017.
The time frame of the allegations contained in the complaint date back to the late 1980s. Tyndall was placed on leave by USC in 2016 and permitted to retire with a financial settlement in 2017.
Like many of the previously filed actions, the new complaint alleges Tyndall used his position as a trusted and credentialed medical professional to commit a series of abusive acts toward his patients, including: forcing his patients to undress completely in front of him while he watched, groping patients' breasts and making racist, misogynistic and sexually harassing comments to patients.
The lawsuit alleges USC was aware of Tyndall's sexual abuse of female student patients for decades and continued to grant him unfettered sexual access to the young students in his and USC's care.
“USC's behavior in this matter is beyond unacceptable, it is disgusting and reprehensible,'' said plaintiffs' attorney Mike Arias. “USC paid more attention to its own financial gain and chose to protect a sexually deviant doctor instead of thousands upon thousands of women who trusted USC over the course of decades. USC's conduct empowered Tyndall to be an abusive predator for decades.''
USC officials have denied any cover-up and has said it has put new protocols in place at its Student Health Center to ensure any complaints are investigated and resolved by appropriate university officials and authorities. Additionally, the university said it has hired female, board-certified physicians and introduced patient education materials about sensitive examinations.
Tyndall has denied any wrongdoing.
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