Ohio AG Dave Yost is trying to dismiss 77 cases against former Ohio State doctor Richard Strauss
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.)
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recently filed a motion on behalf of Ohio State University asking to drop 77 cases involving the late Dr. Richard Strauss sexually abusing Ohio State student-athletes.
Yost is arguing that any claims of abuse that happened before Oct. 21, 1986 should be thrown out, he said in a May 10 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Congress passed a law on Oct. 21, 1986 allowing states and universities to be sued in federal court for failing to prevent the sexual abuse of students.
Yost’s motion applies to plaintiffs in three cases against Ohio State.
He is arguing 43 plaintiffs should have their claims dismissed entirely because the abuse happened before Oct. 21, 1986, and he is asking that 34 plaintiffs should have their claims dismissed in part for the abuse that occurred before Oct. 21, 1986, according to the motion.
Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male victims between 1979 and 1996 during his time as a physician for Ohio State’s Athletics Department and at the university’s Student Health Center, according to an independent investigation commissioned by Ohio State University.
Strauss retired from Ohio State University in 1998 and died by suicide in 2005 when he was 67.
Earlier this month, 30 former Ohio State football players joined a federal lawsuit against Ohio State for Strauss’ abuse.
At least three of the football players were part of the 1980 Rose Bowl team and played for coach Woody Hayes.
Ohio State has reached settlement agreements with 317 survivors for more than $61 million, according to the university. The most recent settlement was with 13 survivors for $1.8 million in April.
This motion comes days after Yost announced he would resign, effective June 7, to take a job with Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing Christian nonprofit law firm. The Southern Poverty Law Center labels the Alliance Defending Freedom as a hate group.
Ohio state Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, criticized Yost’s motion to dismiss the claims.
“He is completely betraying the needs of survivors of sexual abuse as he heads out the door,” DeMora said in a statement. “This decision has nothing to do with the case against Ohio State and Dr. Strauss; it is purely Yost using every opportunity he has left to screw Ohioans and benefit the ultra-rich elite class that he has always worked for.”
Survivors of Strauss have said that Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan knew about the sexual abuse when he was an Ohio State assistant wrestling coach from 1987 to 1995.
Jordan, who recently ran unopposed in the May primary for his Fourth Congressional District seat, has repeatedly denied knowing about any abuse.
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Megan Henry
ohiocapitaljournal.com
