Court reviewer: Ohio State broke law by withholding records
Source: AP
By KANTELE FRANKO
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State University violated state public records law by intentionally withholding old documents from one of the men alleging decades-old sexual misconduct by a school doctor, according to the conclusion reached Tuesday by the official who reviewed the resulting legal dispute.
In 2018, alumnus Steve Snyder-Hill requested records related to his having complained about being abused by Dr. Richard Strauss in the mid-1990s. The school said it would respond as quickly as possible but didn’t share the records for five months, until the release of a law firm investigation conducted for the university that confirmed years of abuse by the deceased doctor and included information from those records.
The delay violated state law that requires the sharing of public records “within a reasonable period of time,” Ohio Court of Claims special master Jeff Clark concluded in a report filed for the court. It recommends the court adopt that finding and have the university pay Snyder-Hill’s $25 filing fee and any other costs incurred in bringing the complaint.
That would be small change for one of the nation’s largest public universities, but it feels like a huge win to Snyder-Hill, who also is part of one of the ongoing federal lawsuits against Ohio State by Strauss survivors.
FILE – This undated file photo shows a photo of Dr. Richard Strauss, an Ohio State University team doctor employed by the school from 1978 until his 1998 retirement. A court reviewer says Ohio State University violated state public records law by intentionally withholding old documents from one of the men alleging decades-old sexual misconduct by Strauss. (Ohio State University via AP, File)
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