LOS ANGELES _ The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into the University of Southern California's handling of complaints against former longtime campus gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall.
The investigation by the department's Office of Civil Rights will review how USC allowed Tyndall to continue treating students despite complaints of misconduct that date back to the 1990s, according to a statement released by the agency.
A second component of the new inquiry will look into why USC did not share any complaints or reports about Tyndall during a prior federal investigation. The federal government recently completed an investigation into how USC handles sexual harassment and sexual assault cases; the university entered into a "monitoring agreement" with the government in January.
"At no time during the investigation or negotiations did USC provide OCR with any information regarding reports or complaints allegedly received against Dr. Tyndall," the Department of Education said in its statement Monday.
"Based on these new compliance issues raised by the information disclosed by USC in public statements and through recent media reports, OCR is opening a new directed investigation," the department said.
A spokeswoman for USC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Los Angeles Times revealed in May that accusations against Tyndall, 71, date to the early 1990s and include reports that he photographed patients' genitals, touched women inappropriately during pelvic exams and made suggestive and sometimes crude remarks about their bodies.
Tyndall has denied any wrongdoing; he could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. He told the Times in a series of interviews this spring that his exams were thorough but always medically appropriate. In a recent letter to the newspaper, he said, "Patients sometimes fabricate stories."
More than 400 women have contacted a university hotline to address concerns about the physician since then. The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating at least 52 complaints of misconduct involving Tyndall, and more than two dozen former patients have sued the doctor and the university in recent weeks.
