George Tyndall, the previous College of Southern California gynecologist accused of sexually abusing tons of of sufferers courting way back to the Nineteen Nineties, was discovered useless at his residence in Los Angeles on Wednesday, his lawyer mentioned.
Dr. Tyndall, 76, who was anticipated to face a prison trial subsequent 12 months, was present in his mattress by a buddy, mentioned Leonard Levine, the lawyer. The reason for demise was unclear.
After years of accusations from sufferers and medical workers members who mentioned Dr. Tyndall had inappropriately touched younger girls throughout medical examinations, five women came forward in May 2018. U.S.C. settled a number of authorized claims in 2021, agreeing to pay more than $1.1 billion to tons of of his former sufferers.
Mr. Levine mentioned that his consumer had “adamantly denied” all prices in opposition to him, including that Dr. Tyndall had “appeared ahead to his day in court docket.”
Allegations that, for years, Dr. Tyndall had abused sufferers visiting the college’s pupil well being clinic first surfaced in 2018 in a report published by The Los Angeles Times, which gained a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. The report set off an uproar on campus that led to the resignation of the university’s president on the time, C.L. Max Nikias, only a 12 months after Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, the favored dean of U.S.C.’s medical faculty, was fired over accusations of utilizing medication and partying with prostitutes.
Dozens of women swiftly sued the university, accusing it of getting failed to guard them from sexual abuse and harassment by Dr. Tyndall.
Simply over a 12 months later, in June 2019, Dr. Tyndall was arrested on prices of sexually assaulting 16 younger girls who had visited the college’s well being middle for annual exams or different remedy between 2009 and 2016.
Regardless of years of allegations in opposition to Dr. Tyndall, he didn’t face retribution till 2016, when a nurse complained about him to the united statesC. campus rape disaster middle. Dr. Tyndall was then suspended, and he retired from U.S.C. in June 2017 below a separation settlement, college officers mentioned on the time.
U.S.C. later confronted criticism for not instantly reporting the accusations in opposition to Dr. Tyndall to the Medical Board of California after they have been first dropped at the college’s consideration within the Nineteen Nineties. Officers on the college, citing a personnel matter, mentioned on the time that it had no authorized obligation to report the findings of an inside investigation to the state medical board, which investigates docs accused of misconduct.
A spokeswoman for the college didn’t instantly reply on Thursday to a request for remark about Dr. Tyndall’s demise.
Dr. Tyndall had not been practising as a health care provider, Mr. Levine mentioned, including that he believed Dr. Tyndall had given up his medical license as a part of a civil settlement.
John Manly, one of many attorneys who represented greater than 200 folks in a civil case in opposition to U.S.C., mentioned in an announcement on Thursday that Dr. Tyndall’s demise “earlier than he was tried represents an entire failure of the justice system in Los Angeles.”
A prison case in opposition to Dr. Tyndall was pending for nearly 5 years and was anticipated to go to trial someday subsequent 12 months, Mr. Manly mentioned, including that George Gascón, the Los Angeles County district lawyer, had “failed his victims, which quantity within the 1000’s.”
“Not solely was Tyndall allowed to flee justice for 5 years after his arrest,” Mr. Manly mentioned, “however U.S.C.’s secrets and techniques that he alone holds died with him.”
Audry L. Nafziger, who was amongst those that had accused Dr. Tyndall of abuse, mentioned on Thursday that she had been involved that he would die earlier than a trial, given his age.
“This eventuality has been on my thoughts for a while,” Ms. Nafziger, now a intercourse crimes prosecutor in Ventura County, Calif., mentioned in an interview. “It’s simply actually unhappy that we’re not going to get justice.”
The sluggish tempo of the prison case had additionally been a priority, Ms. Nafziger mentioned.
“Why did it take this lengthy to get to this stage?” she mentioned. “It’s very uncommon. Why was nobody else ever investigated at U.S.C.?”
The Los Angeles County District Lawyer’s Workplace mentioned in an announcement on Thursday that it understood “the deep disappointment and frustration felt by the victims.”
“On the identical time, we all know that the prosecutors assigned to this case labored tirelessly to hunt justice for the victims,” the workplace mentioned. “Sadly, our system oftentimes strikes at a sluggish tempo, particularly when the courts have been pressured to grind to a halt throughout an unprecedented world pandemic. None of this may change the unimaginable hurt that the victims have suffered.”
