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Bass calls on Caruso to stop cover-up of USC sex abuse scandal
Karen Bass and attorney Gloria Allred are calling on Rick Caruso to "take accountability" and "come clean" in regard to his role in the George Tyndall / USC sexual abuse scandal.
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles mayoral candidate Karen Bass and attorney Gloria Allred are calling on Rick Caruso to "take accountability" and "come clean" in regard to his role in the George Tyndall / USC sexual abuse scandal.
The joint press conference held Thursday comes in the wake of LA Times' bombshell report discussing Caruso testifying and answering questions on what USC knew about Tyndall back in late 2020. At that time, Caruso was a chair of USC's governing board and was summoned to a deposition in connection to the Tyndall case.
The case ended with attorneys representing 710 women who claimed they were sexually abused by Tyndall reaching an $852 million settlement. The Mar. 2021 resolution was considered the largest known settlement against any university and the largest personal injury settlement against any college or university in U.S. history.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: George Tyndall: $852M settlement reached in lawsuits over sexual abuse by ex-USC gynecologist
Allred's law firm represented 72 victims of Tyndall and USC in the lawsuit. Allred said many clients' major goal in pursuing justice was to know why USC failed to protect them after the school was given notice of complaints from students that Tyndall was acting "inappropriate and worse."
Allred said Caruso promised an investigation upon which the finished report would be released to the public and the victims.
"He raised the hopes of victims, who simply wanted the truth," Allred said. "But then he cruelly broke his promise to them later, leaving many of them feeling betrayed by him and the university they represented. My clients want answers from Rick Caruso," Allred said.
Allred called on Caruso to take steps to ensure the report is released.
The LA Times report stated Caruso alleged "the decision was based on concern about victims." Experts, he said, told the trustees that the details could re-traumatize Tyndall's patients.
"If re-traumatizing victims was the true reason of hiding the report from the victims, why did USC never give that reason directly to the victims?" Allred said.
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Karen Bass, Gloria Allred discuss ex-USC gynecologist George Tyndall's sexual assault case
This comes in the wake of LA Times' bombshell report discussing Rick Caruso testifying and answering questions on what USC knew about Tyndall back in late 2020. At that time, Caruso was a chair of USC's governing board and was summoned to a deposition in connection to the Tyndall case
She added that learning the truth would have helped victims heal, and that individuals should decide for themselves if they want to read the report, that it is not for Caruso to decide.
"We do not need a mayor who leaves behind him a trail of broken promises… his apology does not help. If he was truly apologetic, he would have released the report," Allred said.
Jane Doe 48, one of Tyndall's victims, also spoke out on the aftermath of not having the report released.
"We need leadership that will own up to mistakes, share information, and make real amends. Rick Caruso cites his handling of Tyndall case as an example of his leadership…for me, a USC Tyndall survivor, it means he is more interested in protecting his friends and associates and powerful institutions than he is on upholding transparency and accountability in our communities," she said.
Bass said the stakes in the election are "too high" adding that Caruso has "repeatedly lied about during his campaign to protect himself.
"Under oath, Caruso was asked if USC sexual assault victims would ever know who was responsible for attacking them. The answer was, ‘based on the advice of counsel, I can’t release the information, I'm sorry.' Sorry just doesn't cut it," Bass said.
"Rick Caruso knows the truth. He must stop lying, stop the cover-up and come clean about how he sat on and shared a board and failed to protect the women from being sexually assaulted at USC," she added.
According to the Times, Caruso evoked attorney-client privilege repeatedly.
"He should not be allowed to hide behind his lawyers… he's running for mayor.. he needs to come clean and be held accountable," Bass added.
This comes just over two weeks before the highly-anticipated November General Election, which includes the race for Los Angeles Mayor. If Bass and/or Allred were to question Caruso's handling of the Tyndall sex assault scandal, it won't be the first time Bass and Caruso have called each other out for corruption and coverups.
Caruso called Bass out during FOX 11's Sept. 20 debate for corruption for a scholarship that the Congresswoman received from USC. Bass denied that accepting the scholarship was corruption. She said in the Sept. 20 debate that she applied for that scholarship, studied hard and got good grades to earn the grant.
In a campaign ad paid by "Karen Bass for Mayor 2022," Caruso was accused of keeping his mouth shut about the Tyndall sexual assault case.