Federal Judge Orders Ohio State And Strauss Sex Abuse Victims Into Mediation

A national judge has ordered Ohio State University to resoluteness via mediation nan remaining lawsuits revenge by erstwhile students who declare it grounded to protect them from a intersexual predator connected nan schoolhouse payroll.

U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson issued nan bid Monday arsenic nan assemblage still faces 5 progressive lawsuits from 236 men alleging that Dr. Richard Strauss molested them, mostly nether nan guise of giving physicals.

“The Ohio State University portrays itself arsenic a different assemblage coming than it was erstwhile Dr. Richard Strauss abused hundreds of young men — for decades — arsenic its employee,” Watson, of nan Southern District of Ohio, wrote. “Yet it is today’s Ohio State that must reckon pinch nan consequences of that disfigured past successful these cases.”

If nan lawsuit went to proceedings and nan accusers won, it would beryllium a “pyrrhic” victory, Watson wrote.

“The champion measurement for plaintiffs to adjacent this horrific section of their lives and for Ohio State to move guardant arsenic a respectable institution of higher education, is done a communal solution short of a trial,” nan judge wrote.

Watson, successful his order, referred nan cases to Layn Phillips, a erstwhile Oklahoma national judge who mediated nan lawsuits revenge against Michigan State by immoderate 200 women athletes who were sexually abused by sports expert Larry Nasser.

Michigan State paid Nassar activity maltreatment survivors $500 million, which is believed to be nan largest colony ever successful a intersexual misconduct case involving a university.

“He sewage Michigan State to salary nan victims millions successful colony money. So we spot this arsenic a large triumph for us,” 1 of nan OSU plaintiffs, who asked not to beryllium identified to debar angering Watson, told NBC News.

Phillips will beryllium moving alongside chap mediators Catherine Geyer and Michelle Yoshida, arsenic good arsenic rule clerk Caroline Kedeshian, Watson’s bid states.

Watson besides gave some sides a deadline of Feb. 27, 2026 to supply nan tribunal pinch a advancement study “at which constituent nan Court will see whether further mediation would beryllium productive.”

In nan meantime, lawyers for OSU and nan plaintiffs will beryllium allowed to proceed taking depositions from witnesses.

Among those who have already been deposed are Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who was nan adjunct wrestling coach astatine nan assemblage from 1986 to 1994 earlier he sewage into politics, 4 plaintiffs successful lawsuits against nan assemblage told NBC News past month.

Jordan has many times and publicly denied immoderate knowledge that Strauss was preying connected athletes. He was deposed astir a period aft nan merchandise of an HBO Max documentary astir nan Strauss ungraded called “Surviving Ohio State,” successful which 1 of nan wrestlers he erstwhile coached called him a liar. Jordan is not a defendant, but he is referred to successful immoderate of nan lawsuits alleging he was alert of nan abuse.

Lawyers for nan plaintiffs did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected Watson’s ruling. A spokesperson for Ohio State, Benjamin Johnson, besides declined to comment, saying via email, “We don’t typically remark connected pending litigation."

Ohio State recovered itself nether occurrence successful 2018 aft a whistleblowing erstwhile wrestler named Mike DiSabato went nationalist pinch allegations that Strauss had sexually abused him and hundreds of different athletes and that nan schoolhouse knew astir it but did thing to extremity him.

Strauss preyed connected hundreds of men from nan mid-1970s to nan precocious 1990s. He died by termination successful 2005.

An independent investigation sponsored by Ohio State and conducted by the Perkins Coie rule patient concluded successful May 2019 that Strauss sexually abused astatine slightest 177 antheral athletes and students and that coaches and administrators knew astir it for 2 decades but grounded to extremity him.

Since nan merchandise of nan report, OSU has said it has paid out $60 cardinal successful colony money and its erstwhile president has publically apologized “to each personification who endured” maltreatment astatine nan hands of Strauss. But it has balked astatine settling nan remaining lawsuits.