COLUMBUS (WJER) - Our local state representative is leading a push so athletes sexually abused by an Ohio State doctor can sue the university. 

The victims of the late Dr. Richard Strauss have been unable to file lawsuits due to the statute of limitations on the crimes that occurred decades ago.  But 98th District State Representative Brett Hillyer of Uhrichsville has introduced House Bill 249, which would grant those victims a narrow window to take legal action against the university.  

“What House Bill 249 seeks to do is allow these victims their day in court and to have their matter heard by a judge or jury, just as each one of us would hope to have in normal litigation,” he says.

Hillyer says the bill is about offering fairness to victims and keeping perpetrators of sexual abuse from being able to hide behind statutes of limitations.

“We ask those in authority to do the right thing, the insurers, the university, and even the general assembly to come together and help make things right for these victims,” he says.

Strauss was at Ohio State from 1978 until his retirement in 1998. He died by suicide in 2005. To date, 177 victims have come forward.  

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