New criminal charges filed in Tyndall case

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has filed additional charges against former campus gynecologist George Tyndall, adding six charges — five counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person and one count of sexual battery by fraud — to his 29 earlier ones.

Tyndall has denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the 35 criminal charges, which together carry a maximum penalty of 64 years in prison. 

Tyndall, who worked at Student Health from 1989 to 2016, was arrested in June 2019 on 18 felony counts of sexual assault and 11 counts of sexual battery occurring between 2009 and 2016. The arrest followed a 2018 investigation by the Los Angeles Times that revealed Tyndall had engaged in decades of misconduct before the University quietly let him go in 2017 — with a payout of undisclosed value in exchange for his resignation. One hundred forty-five former patients originally came forward with accusations against Tyndall, but the criminal charges were limited to 16 of the women’s allegations due to statute of limitations restrictions.

The charges come after a U.S. District Court judge approved a $215 million settlement from USC in February to be disbursed to Tyndall’s more than 18,000 former patients after more than 660 women filed lawsuits, alleging the University failed to protect them against sexual abuse and neglected to promptly report Tyndall to the Medical Board of California upon discovering his infractions.

Tyndall’s criminal defense did not comment in time for publication. 

The arraignment hearing for Tyndall will take place at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles July 24.