Court hands win to victims of OSU doctor Strauss

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Hundreds of victims of sexual assault at the hands of Ohio State University Dr. Richard Strauss are closer to getting what they’ve been asking for for five years: evidence.

The victims have claims pending in federal court against the university for Title IX violations and for failing to protect students from the predator doctor. This is known as the case management order.

Each of the hundreds of plaintiffs who’ve filed claims against the university has to fill out a court-ordered fact sheet, detailing what happened to them. There is also a discovery order for the defendant – Ohio State University – and none other than the new university president Ted Carter has to swear the answers are true.

There are more than 500 men in five separate plaintiff groups with allegations against Ohio State and all of them have to fill out this detailed fact sheet.

Basic questions about marital status, education and, as most of the Strauss victims were Ohio State athletes, there are questions about scholarships, tuition, and school loans.

The section about "claimed interactions" with Strauss and the hostile environment at OSU might require extra pages.  Many of the men NBC4 has talked to over the past five years detailed multiple encounters --- repeated molestations, even rapes, that were reported to coaches and university officials who turned a blind eye.

In 2019, then-Ohio State President Michael Drake apologized to Strauss’ victims. Now, OSU has to dig into the archives and fill out the defendant’s fact sheet.

Significantly, the university has to produce records, not just personnel policies, but medical records for plaintiffs treated by Strauss, and the names and positions of anyone working at OSU from 1978 to 1998 who received even informal complaints about the doctor.

The school must produce reports by OSU about sexual harassment, abuse or any other criminal act by Strauss made to the medical board or Department of Education. OSU must also produce job performance reviews for the doctor who now has Ohio State facing millions of dollars in claims.

Three people will have to sign that the production of information and documents is complete and true: the university’s president, the chairman of the board of trustees, and counsel for Ohio State.