Irvine California – Survivors of alleged sexual assault by former USC gynecologist George Tyndall and their attorneys called for the public release of the internal investigation into the Tyndall scandal conducted by the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers.
This action follows yesterday’s bombshell report by the Los Angeles Times that 1 in 3 female undergraduates at USC reported that they were sexually assaulted on campus, a figure that is 25% higher than the national average.
In May of 2018, The L.A. Times also broke the story that former USC Student Health Center Gynecologist George Tyndall had been quietly terminated following accusations of sexual assault of his student patients.
Two weeks after the Times story broke, Rick Caruso was elected chair of USC's Board of Trustees. His first act was to appoint the law firm O'Melveny & Myers to conduct a "comprehensive" and "transparent" investigation into Tyndall's conduct and the clinic's reporting failures. Caruso set a goal of finishing the investigation by the time students returned that August.
Nearly 18 months later, Caruso has backtracked on his promise, stating the need to "balance" transparency against privacy and "the concerns of outside investigations and litigation.”
Tyndall survivor Audry Nafiziger, who served as Ventura County’s lead sex crimes prosecutor for more than a decade, said, “The shocking report of the alarming rate of sexual assault at USC testifies to a culture that devalues women and places its highest priority on institutional protection. The USC community and the public have a right to know who at USC knew that their campus gynecologist was sexually assaulting women, failed to report it, and covered it up. Only by holding these individuals accountable will USC begin to restore its reputation and assure students and their parents that they will be safe on campus.”
Attorney John Manly, who represents Ms. Nafziger and more than 250 other survivors, said, “The federal courts have given Tyndall’s victims up to November 7 to file a claim against the University or lose their rights. These victims deserve to have all of the facts before making that life-changing decision, yet Rick Caruso is withholding that information from them. Mr. Caruso, keep your promises and release the O’Melveny & Myers report!”
More than 600 women have filed lawsuits against the University in the George Tyndall case. Tyndall is currently on bail pending trial for his alleged sexual assaults, and he has been forced to surrender his medical license.
Manly Stewart & Finaldi is the nation’s leading firm representing athletes in child sexual abuse cases against school districts, Universities, and Olympic Governing Bodies. They recently represented 180 alleged victims of former Olympic Team doctor Larry Nassar, resulting in a $500 million-dollar settlement against Michigan State University. In 2018, the firm settled cases against the Torrance Unified School District for $31 million on behalf of alleged victims of former wrestling coach and convicted child molester Thomas Snider, against Los Angeles Unified School district for $8 million in cases involving former football coach and convicted child molester Jamie Jimenez, and for $14 million in cases involving former Los Angeles Unified District employee Ronnie Lee Roman. The firm has also settled $30 million in claims against Redlands Unified School District.
