The allegations are horrifying. The legal settlement is historic.
He created over 1,000 “homemade sex tapes.” He took explicit photos of his patients without their consent. He faces nearly three dozens criminal charges related to sexual penetration and sexual battery by fraud. Over the course of three decades, he targeted young Asian women in particular.
Now, the university that allegedly knew about his behavior but ignored it, has agreed to pay victims of George Tyndall over a billion dollars.
Tyndall was the longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California’s campus health center. Hundreds of women have come forward to report being sexually abused by him.
A May 2018 investigation by The Los Angeles Times suggests that USC’s administrators knew about Tyndall’s grotesque behavior:
The complaints began in the 1990s, when co-workers alleged he was improperly photographing students’ genitals. In the years that followed, patients and nursing staff accused him again and again of “creepy” behavior, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies.
In recent years, some colleagues feared that he was targeting the university’s growing population of Chinese students, who often had a limited understanding of the English language and American medical norms.
A disturbingly-detailed 2020 investigation by the Education Department’s civil rights office found that USC, “failed at multiple points in time and at multiple levels of responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to notice of the alleged sexual harassment; and that its failure may have allowed female students to be subjected to continuing sex discrimination.”
On Thursday, USC agreed to a $852 million settlement with 700 victims. That’s in addition to a $215 million settlement agreed to in 2018. A judge will determine how the settlement funds will be distributed. Crucially, no confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements were attached to the money.
“I am deeply sorry for the pain experienced by these valued members of the USC community,” USC President Carol L. Folt said in a statement. “We appreciate the courage of all who came forward and hope this much needed resolution provides some relief to the women abused by George Tyndall.”
John Manly, an attorney representing the women subject to the settlement, said USC needs to hold more enablers accountable, “There are many in the administration and the board of trustees who don’t belong at that university. Not all, but some…They put the prestige, fundraising and the university brand ahead of the well-being of students for 30 years.”
Tyndall, 74, faces 35 criminals counts and up to 64 years in jail if convicted. He would have faced many additional charges if it weren’t for the statute of limitations. Tyndall has maintained his innocence and his lawyers vow to clear his name in court.
One of Tyndall’s accusers, Christy Leach, told NBC News that “financial settlements for survivors often seem promising but must also be weighed against the long and expensive mental health care needed for recovery.”
The USC payout is thought to be a record settlement from a university to survivors of sexual abuse.
