US lawmaker Jim Jordan cried, begged to deny sexual abuse cover-up: Ex-student athlete

A champion wrestler at Ohio State University told state legislators at a public hearing that Republican politician Jim Jordan cried and begged him to deny any knowledge of cover-up in a sexual abuse scandal. Adam DiSabato, brother of whistleblower Mike DiSabato, said that Jordan called him after the sensational reports of sexual abuse by Dr Richard Strauss were published in 2018.

“Jim Jordan called me crying, grovelling, begging me to go against my brother, begging me, crying for a half-hour. That’s the kind of cover-up that’s going on there," Adam DiSabato told members of the Ohio House Civil Justice Committee. 

Jordan, a strong supporter of US President Donald Trump, has denied such allegations in the past. In 2018, the Republican leader told the media that he never knew about “any type of abuse” and he would have done something about it otherwise.

On April 5, 2018, Ohio State had announced the initiation of an independent, external investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Strass, a former university-employed physician. The independent investigators interviewed more than 500 individuals and reviewed documents dating back to the relevant time period.

The Ohio State University released a report from the independent investigators that detailed acts of sexual abuse by Dr Richard Strauss against at least 177 former students during his employment with the university from 1978 to 1998. The report concluded that university personnel at the time had knowledge of complaints and concerns about Strauss’ conduct as early as 1979 but failed to investigate or act meaningfully.\

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According to the report, some of the students stated that they did not feel that they were abused. However, the investigators consulted two External Physicians who informed that the described examination techniques by Strauss fell outside the objective boundaries of acceptable doctor-patient interactions.

“For example, a number of these students explained that Strauss would routinely touch their genitals at every visit, regardless of the medical ailment presented, including for a sore throat,” the report said. 

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Abuse escalated over time

The report further stated that a student’s most egregious experience of abuse, in many cases, did not occur during the student’s first encounter with Strauss but escalated over time, in a series of examinations with the student.  

“This is consistent with a process commonly known as 'grooming', by which sex abusers gain access to potential victims in a series of steps that garner trust, establish control by the abuser, and create a dynamic of secrecy and isolation around the abuser’s interactions with his victim,” it added.

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(With agency inputs)