The University of Southern California has settled a lawsuit with 80 former students, mostly gay and bisexual men, who accused a male doctor of sexual misconduct.
Neither the university nor Dr. Dennis Kelly admitted wrongdoing in the case.
The agreement announced on Thursday for an undisclosed sum follows settlements by the Los Angeles school to pay more than $1 billion to hundreds of women who accused another male doctor of sexual misconduct at the student health center. Kelly worked at the school for more than 20 years and retired in 2018.
He surrendered his license the following year amid an investigation by the state medical board.
One man, referred to as John Doe 1 in court filings said Kelly asked him embarrassing personal questions on topics like the sharing of sex toys, if he "watched porn" and if he "hooked up" with people from the internet. It is alleged that Kelly subjected the student to a rectal exam even when he tried to refuse.
“Dr. Kelly was not providing legitimate medical treatment to him but was instead sexually abusing him to further his own prurient desires and/or to discriminate, shame, humiliate, and embarrass him as a result of his sexual orientation,” the lawsuit said.
