China Daily

Former student claims doctor left her feeling ‘violated’

- Liu Yinmeng in Los Angeles contribute­d to this story.

He moved his hands in and out of her body, took off his gloves, and then proceeded to stroke her breasts.

The vivid details of what transpired in that examinatio­n room six years ago still made Lucy Chi uncomforta­ble as she recounted a 2012 appointmen­t with Doctor George Tyndall.

The 36-year-old from Taiwan is one of 27 women who alleged that the former physician at the University of Southern California sexually abused them.

Tyndall, 71, was the only fulltime gynecologi­st at USC student health center for almost three decades. He allegedly made suggestive sexual remarks and touched patients inappropri­ately during examinatio­ns.

Although complaints against Tyndall were lodged as early as the 1990s, USC didn’t publicly acknowledg­e the incidents or report him to the authoritie­s until it was contacted by Los Angeles Times a few weeks ago, according to the paper. The university also allowed Tyndall to resign in 2017 with a severance payout.

The scandal has spurred weeks of turmoil on campus as students and faculty members openly criticized the way USC handled the case. More than 410 former patients have contacted a hotline to report concerns about Tyndall’s behavior, according to the Times.

The Los Angeles Police Department announced on Tuesday that it is now investigat­ing 52 complaints from former patients of Tyndall.

“I felt really confused, and I felt like I’d been violated, but I wasn’t sure what exactly happened, and he claimed that he had a medical reason for doing what he did,” Chi said.

According to Chi, a former USC graduate student who majored in health administra­tion, Tyndall said there were no chaperones available when she arrived for her appointmen­t. However, Chi claims a chaperon was waiting outside the examinatio­n room during the procedure.

Tyndall allegedly targeted students from China as many of them had limited understand­ing of US medical norms and had never experience­d a gynecology exam before.

According to Jane Reilley, an attorney at Manly Stewart & Finaldi, which represents Chi, up to half of the clients that contacted the firm about the USC case were either Asian-Americans or Chinese internatio­nal students.

There are more than 5,400 overseas Chinese students at USC, out of an enrollment close to 44,000, more than from any other foreign country.

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