George Tyndall has been arrested in Los Angeles in relation to the sexual assault of 16 of his clients. No charges have formally been laid
Former University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall has been arrested in connection to the sexual assault of 16 patients.
The top doctor, 71, was taken into custody outside his L.A. apartment on Wednesday, according to The Los Angeles Times.
A press conference is forthcoming.
Tyndall’s attorney, Leonard Levine, confirmed the gynecologist’s arrest and said his client maintains his innocence.
‘After one year of being tried in the press, Dr. Tyndall looks forward to finally having his case adjudicated in a court of law,’ Levine stated.
The Los Angeles Times reports that detectives have been collecting evidence in the case against Tyndall since May 2018.
More than 700 women are pursuing individual claims against the doctor in state court.
Separately, USC has agreed to a $215 million class-action settlement with former patients who complained about Tyndall’s actions.
Tyndall worked as a campus gynecologist at the university for decades, and complaints about him first surfaced as far back as 1997.
Last month, a judge released USC’s files to The Los Angeles Times as part of a Freedom of Information request.
They revealed how the college launched an investigation into him after receiving countless complaints about his conduct.
The college hired a firm to carry out the investigation and in 2016, it handed over its findings.
The report said in part that Tyndall was targeting Asian women who had a poor grasp of English and were unfamiliar with gynecology which made them easy targets.
‘If the patients were young and Asian, they were more likely to have a pelvic exam completed,’ it said.
USC has since set up a $215million settlement fund for Tyndall’s patients who complained about alleged misconduct
In 1997, a woman wrote to the university and warned them to fire him or risk ‘a huge future lawsuit on your hands.’
Two others filed complaints that year but he was allowed to stay on and instead thanked his supervisor for bringing the issue to his attention.
Complaints about him being sexual towards patients began in 2000 when he shared an anecdote about the sexual escapades of a guitarist.
The patient wrote in her complaint: ‘After such a repulsive display of un-professionalism, I have lost all trust in you as my physician.’
There were other complaints from ‘chaperones’ – nurses and assistants who were meant to be present for exams – who said that he would block their view of pelvic exams by placing a curtain between them and the lower bodies of the patients.
In 2003, one complaint read: ‘Once again GT is not allowing Mas [medical assistants] to be behind curtain when chaperoning MD during pelvic exams.’
Six years later, a student complained about him complimenting her public hair and in 2010, someone reported him performing a pelvic exam on her in 2004 without wearing a glove.
In 2013, an investigation into his conduct was launched at the request of his supervisor.
He was allowed to keep his job, however, after the investigator noted ‘there was ‘insufficient evidence of any University policy violation to justify continuing an investigation.’
Around 2016, a nurse who had grown frustrated with the situation consulted a rape crisis counselor and USC hired the external firm to carry out an investigation.
He was put on leave immediately and did not treat another patient but was not fired.
Pictured are some of the dozens of women who have accused Tyndall of misconduct publicly
The damning 17-page report found that not only were his pelvic exams outside the realms of standard medical practice, but that he had ‘dangerous opinions’ about breast exams.
It also found that he had been photographing patients’ genitals and using a lab in upstate New York to develop images, sometimes giving ‘dubious explanations’ for it.
Tyndall was fired by USC in 2017.
Since then, dozens of women have sued him and the university, claiming it covered up his misconduct.