Dr. George Tyndall, a former University of Southern California gynecologist, has died at his home just months before he was set to stand trial for sex crimes against 16 patients.
Tyndall, 76, was found dead on Wednesday at his Los Angeles home, according to his lawyer, Leonard Levine, who confirmed the death on Thursday.
The longtime USC doctor was arrested in June, 2019, after being accused of sexually assaulting numerous students at the university’s student health center.
He was awaiting trial on 35 criminal counts of sexual misconduct between 2009 and 2016. In 2019, he pleaded not guilty and was released on bond.
Levine said his client consistently maintained his innocence and wanted to present his case before a jury. He was due back in court later this month to set a date for his trial.
George Tyndall, 76, was found dead at his home on Wednesday. He is pictured here appearing before a judge at the criminal courts building in downtown Los Angeles on August 25
![Pictured are some of the dozens of women who have accused Tyndall of misconduct publicly](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/05/20/13926136-12599589-Pictured_are_some_of_the_dozens_of_women_who_have_accused_Tyndal-a-31_1696535359122.jpg)
Pictured are some of the dozens of women who have accused Tyndall of misconduct publicly
![Tyndall was accused of misconduct with 400 women over a seven-year period at the University of Southern California. He died just months before he was set to stand trial for sex crimes against 16 patients](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/05/20/74755319-12599589-Tyndall_was_accused_of_misconduct_with_400_women_over_a_seven_ye-a-27_1696535332506.jpg)
Tyndall was accused of misconduct with 400 women over a seven-year period at the University of Southern California. He died just months before he was set to stand trial for sex crimes against 16 patients
![George Tyndall was arrested in Los Angeles in 2019 in relation to the sexual assault of 16 of his clients. He always maintained his innocence, according to his lawyer](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/05/20/13926152-12599589-George_Tyndall_has_been_arrested_in_Los_Angeles_in_relation_to_t-a-26_1696535325779.jpg)
George Tyndall was arrested in Los Angeles in 2019 in relation to the sexual assault of 16 of his clients. He always maintained his innocence, according to his lawyer
‘From the very beginning, Dr. Tyndall had adamantly denied every one of the charges against him. All he ever wanted was his day in court, which he was confident would end in his complete exoneration,’ Levine said.
‘Now, neither he nor his accusers will get that, and that is very unfortunate for everyone involved.’
Multiple USC alumni were set to take the stand to testify against him during his trial.
‘I’m not happy that he died. I wanted to see him convicted for what he did,’ Audry Nafziger, a former patient who had accused Tyndall of inappropriately touching her and photographing her genitals, said to the Los Angeles Times.
A close friend went to Tyndall’s home after he hadn’t responded to her phone calls, when she found him unresponsive in bed, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The coroner’s office will conduct an autopsy, however, Levine said there is ‘no evidence of foul play or suicide.’
More than 700 women were 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.
![USC has since set up a $215million settlement fund for Tyndall's patients who complained about alleged misconduct](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/05/20/13926134-12599589-USC_has_since_set_up_a_215million_settlement_fund_for_Tyndall_s_-a-30_1696535356180.jpg)
USC has since set up a $215million settlement fund for Tyndall’s patients who complained about alleged misconduct
![Pictured: Many of Tyndall's victims are seen speaking out about the horrid abuse they had to endure. Former patients described Tyndall as 'unprofessional, creepy,' or someone who made them feel 'uncomfortable and violated'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/05/21/74755607-12599589-Pictured_Many_of_Tyndall_s_victims_are_seen_speaking_out_about_t-a-6_1696539232653.jpg)
Pictured: Many of Tyndall’s victims are seen speaking out about the horrid abuse they had to endure. Former patients described Tyndall as ‘unprofessional, creepy,’ or someone who made them feel ‘uncomfortable and violated’
Tyndall worked as a campus gynecologist at the university for decades, and complaints about him first surfaced as far back as 1997.
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.
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.
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