COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed some of the biggest remaining lawsuits filed by men who say Ohio State University officials failed to stop decades-old sexual abuse by now-deceased team doctor Richard Strauss.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson agreed Wednesday with OSU’s argument that the legal window for such claims had passed.
In one ruling, Watson said it’s indisputable Strauss abused hundreds of young men. He says that Ohio State officials turned a blind eye and the university failed the survivors — and that now the legal system also has failed them.
OSU has apologized publicly.
It announced nearly $47 million in settlements for 185 plaintiffs and says it has since settled with dozens more.
Attorneys for some of the plaintiffs said they would appeal, NPR reported Wednesday.
