COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The Ohio State University has acknowledged nearly 1,500 incidents of rape or fondling related to Dr. Richard Strauss.
The numbers were released in OSU’s annual campus crime report.
This year’s reports include an extra category for rape and sexual assault accusations related to Dr. Richard Strauss. The Clery Act requires universities to count incidents in the year they were reported, not when they happened.
The university recorded 30 rape reports and 992 fondling reports related to Strauss in 2018. An additional 437 reports of fondling and 17 reports of rape have been reported in 2019, bringing the total to 1,429 fondling reports and 47 rape reports.
Strauss’ abuse from decades ago was the subject of an independent investigation by Perkins Coie announced last year by Ohio State. The findings detailed acts of sexual abuse against at least 177 former students and concluded that university personnel at the time had knowledge of complaints and concerns about Strauss’ conduct as early as 1979 but failed to investigate or act meaningfully.
Because the Clery Act counts incidents in the year they were reported rather than the year in which they occurred, additional Strauss-related incidents could be included for the next several years.
The university also released a new version of the May Perkins Coie report that contains newly-unredated information from the Ohio Medical Board.
Revised Report (Text)
The university’s Task Force on Sexual Abuse has been convened to review recent sexual abuse cases and identify educational tools and best practices for fostering a culture of awareness and compliance in higher education.
Specifically, the task force is charged with:
- Compiling a background summary of known instances of sexual abuse that have occurred at institutions of higher education, with particular emphasis on those that have become known within the last 10 years
- Distilling and categorizing common elements or themes that emerge from the historical summary, focusing specifically on identifying and understanding the particular challenges and cultural barriers that may exist in college departments of athletics or in the clinical medical enterprise that could affect sexual abuse reporting
- Identifying educational tools and practices for enhancing a culture of awareness and compliance
- Identifying best practices focused on assisting reporting and developing pathways to action on college campuses
- Identifying best practices regarding sustainable mechanisms for support and recovery
The task force is chaired by Alan Michaels, JD, professor and dean emeritus of Ohio State’s Moritz College of Law. Additional members include:
- Brieanne Beaujolais, doctoral student in social work with research interests in gender-based violence, campus sexual assault, intimate partner violence and sex trafficking, Ohio State
- Regis Becker, board member and interim CEO, U.S. Center for SafeSport
- Esther Choo, MD, MPH, associate professor of emergency medicine whose research interests include violence, women’s health and gender medicine, Oregon Health & Science University
- Christine Gidycz, PhD, professor emerita of psychology focusing on sexual assault prevention and risk reduction programs, Ohio University
- Katherine Lasher, JD, associate vice president for institutional equity, Ohio State
- Janine Oman, deputy director of athletics overseeing sport administration, sport performance, compliance and human resources, Ohio State
- Vincent Roscigno, PhD, professor of sociology focusing on inequality, culture and dynamics of workplace bullying and abuse, Ohio State
- Kimberly Spears-McNatt, chief of police, The Ohio State University Police Division
- Deborah Tuerkheimer, JD, professor focusing on feminist legal theory and criminal law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law