The University of Southern California allowed a gynecologist at the campus health center to continue treating young women despite receiving complaints from students and his colleagues over the years, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Dr. George Tyndall was hired in 1989, and was the only full-time gynecologist at the clinic. More than 20 current and former USC employees told the Times that starting in the 1990s, coworkers complained about Tyndall taking unnecessary photos of genitals during pelvic exams and making inappropriate remarks about his patients' bodies. Some of the health center employees said that in recent years, as more Asian students enrolled at USC, Tyndall apparently began to target these women, because they didn't speak much English and weren't aware of how medical exams are conducted in the U.S., the Times reports.
In 2016, a nurse complained about Tyndall to the campus rape crisis center. He was suspended, and an internal investigation found that his behavior during pelvic exams was not standard and amounted to sexual harassment, the Times says. Administrators let Tyndall resign and gave him a payout, and did not report him to the Medical Board of California. In a statement, USC said it was not under any legal obligation to report Tyndall to the board, but "in hindsight," they should have done so. USC also told the Times that Tyndall threatened to file an age and gender discrimination suit, and "rather than engage in protracted litigation," the university offered a settlement.
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Tyndall told the Times he only took photos with permission and was "there to protect the health of Trojan women." Read more about the claims against Tyndall and his response at the Los Angeles Times.
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