Ex-USC gynecologist charged with sexually assaulting students dies before going to trial

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Source: Associated Press, via Newser

U.S. NEWS

Ex-USC gynecologist charged with sexually assaulting students dies before going to trial

BY STEFANIE DAZIO
Updated 4:52 PM EDT, October 5, 2023

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The former University of Southern California campus gynecologist at the center of more than $1 billion worth of university payouts stemming from sexual abuse allegations by hundreds of women was found dead inside his home Wednesday, his lawyer said.

George Tyndall, 76, was awaiting trial on more than two dozen criminal counts of sexual misconduct between 2009 and 2016 at the university's student health center. He pleaded not guilty in 2019 and was free on bond ahead of a trial that had not yet been scheduled. His lawyer, Leonard Levine, confirmed his death Thursday.

A close friend went to Tyndall's home in Los Angeles on Wednesday after he had not answered her phone calls, Levine said. She found him dead in his bed. ... Levine said there is "no evidence of foul play or suicide." ... Levine said Tyndall was due back in court later this month to set a date for his trial. His client had denied any wrongdoing and wanted to present his case before a jury. ... "He's always maintained his innocence," Levine said.

Tyndall was initially charged in 2019 with 35 felony counts, but that was later dropped to 27, the Los Angeles Times reported. Eighteen were counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person and nine were counts of sexual battery by fraud. The charges relate to 16 former patients at the campus student health center.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/usc-gynecologist-abuse-george-tyndall-dead-3b8b9e032d614f230a72e705c015f3d2

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Hat tip, Newser, the clickbait site

Campus Gynecologist Dies While Awaiting Assault Trial

https://www.newser.com/article/3b8b9e032d614f230a72e705c015f3d2/ex-usc-gynecologist-charged-with-sexually-assaulting-students-dies-before-going-to-trial.html

George Tyndall's lawyer reports no indication of suicide or foul play

By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 5, 2023 3:05 PM CDT

A former University of Southern California campus gynecologist charged with sexually assaulting numerous students was found dead Wednesday in his home, his lawyer said. Leonard Levine, George Tyndall's defense attorney, confirmed the death on Thursday, the AP reports. Tyndall, who was in his mid-70s, was awaiting trial on 35 criminal counts of sexual misconduct between 2009 and 2016 at the university's student health center. He pleaded not guilty in 2019 and was free on bond. A friend went to Tyndall's home in Los Angeles on Wednesday after he had not answered her phone calls, Levine said. She found him dead in his bed.

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Tyndall was deposed for the settlement and largely invoked his right against self-incrimination in answers, the plaintiffs' lawyers said, per the AP. While he signed the settlement, he did not contribute any money toward it and did not admit to any wrongdoing. Separately, USC earlier agreed to pay $215 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that applies to about 18,000 women who were patients of Tyndall. Allegations against Tyndall first surfaced in 2018 in an investigation by the Los Angeles Times, which revealed that the doctor had been the subject of complaints dating to the 1990s. He wasn't suspended until 2016, when a nurse reported him to a rape crisis center. He quietly resigned with a large payout the next year.