Strauss victims object to OSU’S effort to get lawsuit dismissed

Attorneys for victims of decades-old sexual abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss have objected to Ohio State University’s request that an updated lawsuit against the university be dismissed based on the statute of limitations.

The attorneys said in a Wednesday court filing that survivors are only now coming to understand the abuse they suffered from Strauss between 20 and 40 years ago. They argue the statute of limitations runs only from the time that abuse is recognized, which for many of the victims was in 2018 when news of Strauss’ actions emerged.

More than 350 men alleging misconduct by Strauss have sued Ohio State. Many say they were fondled in medical examinations on campus, at his off-campus clinic or at his home. They contend that concerns about Strauss were raised with university employees as far back as the late 1970s.

Strauss retired in 1998 and died in 2005.

Man fatally shoots self with gun taken from deputy

The Ashtabula County sheriff’s office is investigating the death of a Jefferson man who shot himself with a responding deputy’s gun.

Rex Sturgill, 48, was pronounced dead at the scene by Saybrook Township

Fire Department paramedics.

Deputies were dispatched about 2:40 p.m. Saturday on a report of an unwanted male at a residence, according to the sheriff’s office report. Before deputies arrived, Sturgill had kicked out a bathroom window and run into nearby woods.

A deputy later said Sturgill was attempting to elude him. Sturgill got out of a parked vehicle, and an altercation ensued. Sturgill grabbed the deputy’s holstered gun, ran to the other side of the vehicle and shot himself.

Video evidence of the incident was obtained by detectives, and Ashtabula County Sheriff William Johnson described it as “crystal clear.”

From wire reports