Ohio State sexual abuse cases to move forward 'aggressively,' judge says

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- If a federal judge upholds his promise, hundreds of survivors’ sexual abuse cases against Ohio State University will move “aggressively” forward after spending years at a standstill.

A federal judge gave attorneys until July 14 to determine how many survivors of former Ohio State physician Richard Strauss remain in a bundle of active lawsuits against the university. After a five-year legal battle over survivors’ ability to sue, the cases now inch toward discovery, and possible trial.

In the same courthouse where, nearly two years ago, he dismissed the slate of lawsuits for an expired statute of limitations, Judge Michael Watson told attorneys -- and the survivors behind them -- that they should expect an “aggressive schedule” after next Friday’s filing.

“These men have waited a long time,” Watson said. “We have a responsibility to make sure they get the justice they deserve.”

Strauss was an Ohio State physician and varsity team sports doctor from 1978 to ’98. During his tenure, he sexually abused and harassed hundreds of victims -- nearly all men -- under the guise of medical exams.

Strauss died by suicide in 2005. Since 2018, more than 400 victims and their families have filed lawsuits against Ohio State for its failure to prevent and address the abuse, which an independent investigation found in 2019 that university officials were aware of as early as 1979.

Ohio State fought for years to quash the lawsuits on the basis that the statute of limitations -- which is two years in Ohio for civil sexual abuse cases -- should have run out decades ago. 

After Watson’s 2021 dismissals were overturned by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Ohio State asked for a full-panel circuit rehearing before appealing the cases to the U.S. Supreme Court. At the end of June, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, allowing the Sixth Circuit’s ruling to remain.

Having exhausted its avenues to prevent the case from moving forward with discovery -- which would mean former coaches, trustees and administrators would be questioned under oath about their knowledge of Strauss’ abuse -- Ohio State’s attorneys told the judge they expected to produce new defenses.

An Ohio State spokesperson and Michael Carpenter, an attorney representing the university, declined to comment.

In the years since the first lawsuit was filed, Ohio State has never filed a response. Having waited for the final determination on the statute of limitations, the attorneys have yet to go through more than 300 survivors’ claims and directly address each of them.

“There’s 6,000 paragraphs in all the complaints, so it’s a little tough to cut and paste,” Carpenter told the judge.

By next Friday, Ohio State’s attorneys will have a clearer picture as to who remains and what they’ve claimed, with Watson recommending survivors’ attorneys consolidate the cases into one, if possible.

Ohio State has settled with 296 survivors for $60 million since 2020, including through a settlement program that individual survivors in the open cases may have elected to join.

One survivor who has not settled is Matt Reed, a former Ohio State gymnast. After the court appearance on Thursday, Reed told NBC4 that the possibility of a settlement doesn’t entice him -- it’s not the reason he joined a lawsuit.

“This is about protecting our kids, protecting the students at the university currently, and showing everybody that Ohio State screwed up,” Reed said as his teenage daughter looked on.

Reed joined several other survivors in the courtroom pews Thursday afternoon, watching attentively as Watson presided over the cases’ first status conference. With survivors spanning decades, states and legal representatives, most had never met before their knowledge of Strauss’ abuse brought them together.

Between COVID-19 virtual appearances and litigation mostly playing out in court files, some survivors’ attorneys hadn’t met everyone, either. Before the conference, one attorney asked Stephen Snyder-Hill -- a lead plaintiff in the cases -- who in the pew next to him were survivors.

“All of us,” he told her.