Review of former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss prompts Ohio Medical Board to reopen cases against physicians

Sarah Szilagy, Owen Milnes
Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:46:52 +0000
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The State Medical Board of Ohio has reopened 91 cases for sexual impropriety and may open another 42 for failure to report abuse after completing its review sparked by former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss. Credit: Lantern File Photo

The State Medical Board of Ohio has reopened 91 cases against physicians for sexual impropriety and may open another 42 for failure to report abuse after completing its review sparked by former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss — including a review into former director of Student Health Services Ted Grace’s failure to report Strauss’ abuse.

The reopened cases — which were found in a review of all sexual assault allegations against any physician or licensed medical professional in the state — include those that were investigated and closed without action over the past 25 years as well as cases in which potential license holders knew or suspected of abuse and did not report it, according to the working group report.?

Gov. Mike DeWine established the Working Group on Reviewing of the Medical Board’s Handling of the Investigation Involving Richard Strauss in 2019.

During a medical board investigation into Grace’s failure to report Strauss’ abuse, Grace testified in March he was aware of three complaints made by students in the 1990s. Grace didn’t report any of these complaints to the medical board, according to a medical board letter sent to Grace July 8, 2020.??

The first complaint Grace was aware of dated back to January 1995 when a student reported Strauss performed an “inappropriately long and invasive exam of his genital area,”according to the July 8 letter.

The second complaint, also from January 1995, alleged Strauss gave a student an inappropriate genital exam and pushed his erect penis against the student’s leg. After this, Grace gave Strauss a verbal warning. Following this exam, Grace sent the affected student a letter in which he “falsely stated” that there had been no complaints made against Strauss, “although we have had several positive comments,” according to the July 8 letter.?

Grace was made aware of a third complaint in January 1996 after a student exited an exam screaming that Strauss was a “pervert” and “crazy.” The student’s medical chart was ripped up and lab work was discarded. Grace then suspended Strauss from seeing students at the Student Health Center, the July 8 letter reads.?

Strauss was team doctor for 17 varsity sports and a physician at the Student Wellness Center from 1978-98. An independent investigation in May 2019 found that Strauss abused at least 177 students and student-athletes during his tenure and that Ohio State failed to act.

Strauss died by suicide in 2005.

In May 2020, the university settled with 168 victims for $40.9 million. In October 2020, the university settled with 23 more victims for an additional $5.8 million, for a total of $46.7 million.