Investigators: Accounts of abuse by Strauss match

Investigators told Ohio State University trustees Thursday that as they continue to look into allegations of sexual abuse by former university physician Richard Strauss, dozens of former students have reported consistent descriptions of abuse.

Representatives of Perkins Coie, the independent law firm hired by Ohio State to investigate the Strauss allegations, shared updates with trustees during the Audit and Finance Committee meeting.

“The survivors attended Ohio State at different eras but did not have contact with each other, and yet, their recollections of what Dr. Strauss did to them, and how he did what he did, matches across time,” said Markus Funk, one of the Perkins Coie representatives conducting the investigation.

Investigators have conducted more than 440 separate interviews, including with about 150 former students providing firsthand accounts of Strauss’ sexual abuse during medical exams, Funk said.

As part of their investigation, Perkins Coie staff members are looking into whether university employees at the time knew about the misconduct, and if so, to what extent. They have interviewed a number of former university employees who were on the staff during Strauss’ tenure, and those people have provided important evidence, Funk said.

But other former employees have not fully cooperated with investigators, he said.

“Unfortunately, it’s been a challenge to get some certain university employees to speak with us,” Funk said, adding that all current university employees with information have cooperated fully.

Seattle-based Perkins Coie also has reviewed more than 34,000 documents from university archives and other sources, Funk said.

Investigators said they hope to conclude the fact-finding phase of the investigation, now in its seventh month, this year.

Ohio State faces two lawsuits filed on behalf of former students who say they were abused by Strauss. Each alleges that the university and its employees knew about misconduct by Strauss but failed to stop it.

And as the investigation stretches on, the number of plaintiffs against Ohio State has grown. This week, 29 plaintiffs were added to one of the two pending lawsuits. An amended complaint in that case alleges that students reported the misconduct to at least 12 Ohio State coaches, administrators or staff members, including Buckeyes football great and former assistant athletic director Archie Griffin.

The university has attempted to have those suits dismissed, arguing that statutes of limitations have expired. (A third lawsuit has since been folded into one of the others.)

Through mid-August, Ohio State had spent nearly $1.5 million on the investigation and related litigation.

Former students, in accounts to the media or detailed in lawsuits, have reported excessive fondling during routine physicals and hernia checks by Strauss. Others have said that Strauss attempted to masturbate them or other patients and propositioned them sexually.

In the case of at least one former swimmer, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, Strauss allegedly massaged and kissed the swimmer’s neck and back ahead of a swim meet; the athlete grabbed his belongings and left the room.

Ohio State announced in April that it had received sexual-misconduct allegations about Strauss, who killed himself in 2005. The university is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for its handling of the allegations.

While at the university, Strauss worked as a team doctor in a number of sports and was a physician for student health services in the 1990s.

Athletes from at least 17 varsity sports teams have reported sexual misconduct by Strauss. Other former students have reported abuse by Strauss at the student health center. Some people have reported sexual misconduct occurring at a private medical practice Strauss opened in Columbus in 1996.

Ohio State officials have said they remain committed to uncovering what happened during Strauss’ time at the university and what school leaders at the time might have known.

Funk also emphasized that investigators’ approach of not reaching out individually to those who might have been abused by Strauss is meant to protect victims and lessen the chance of retraumatizing them. Instead, investigators have worked with the university to inform alumni and the public about the investigation and how those with information can contact them.

“It is our experience from investigations similar to this that there will be other survivors who decide not to speak with us,” Funk said. “They alone are the ones who need to make the decision of whether, when and how to come forward.”

Attorneys representing some of the former students have criticized the investigation, saying it has not focused on helping victims but on determining the extent of Ohio State’s liability.

Thursday’s update comes ahead of Friday’s meeting of the full board of trustees, in which trustees are scheduled to hear from victims of Strauss. Former Ohio State student Brian Garrett, who said he both experienced and witnessed abuse by Strauss, had requested the time before the board on behalf of other victims. Garrett said the group hopes to share their experiences of abuse and discuss resources for the victims and policies to prevent future abuse.