Former Columbus fire chief alleges sexual assault by Ohio State doctor Richard Strauss

Recently retired Columbus Fire Chief Jeffrey Happ alleged on Thursday that he was sexually abused by former Ohio State University doctor Richard Strauss, except unlike student athletes, the abuse in his case happened at Bishop Ready High School.

Happ said that he was assaulted when he was still a 15-year-old multi-sport wrestling and football athlete at his high school, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Happ said that Strauss’s conducting private physical exams was just a disguise to abuse students both at Bishop Ready and at Ohio State.

“I had 33 physicals in my time on the fire department,” he told The Dispatch. “I never missed one, and I never had an exam like that with Strauss again.”

Todd Schroeck, a former Columbus firefighter, also told the news source that Strauss sexually abused him when he was a 17-year-old wrestler at Bishop Ready.

“Kids didn’t know the word ‘pedophile’ then. He was just a weirdo,” Schroeck told The Dispatch. “But he was a professional at this.”

Just like Happ, Schroeck said that he had many physical exams, due to having once had prostate cancer, and never was examined by his doctors the way he was allegedly “examined” by Strauss.

The Diocese of Columbus, which oversees Bishop Ready High School, said in a statement that it “takes the statements of Jeff Happ and all allegations of misconduct seriously,” adding that “anyone who suspects they have been a victim of abuse should contact law enforcement and the Diocese of Columbus Safe Environment Office” either by email or phone, according to The Dispatch.

“We recognize that abuse causes lasting wounds, especially when it occurs in relationships of trust. We also acknowledge that the passage of time does not erase the harm caused by abuse,” the Diocese said. “The clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Columbus pray for all who have been sexually abused. May God grant them peace and may they find the needed resources to lead them to a place of healing.”

Happ said that he opened up about being abused only recently because he didn’t know how this information could have affected the 1,7000 firefighters under his leadership. He said that he received dozens of text messages from his former colleagues thanking him for speaking out about what happened to him.

On May 7, 30 former Ohio State football players, including more than a dozen former National Football League stars, announced that they had joined the class action lawsuit against the OSU.

On May 10, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a brief on behalf of the university asking to dismiss the claims of 77 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, saying that any claims of abuse occurring before Oct. 21, 1986, should be thrown out because on that day, Congress allowed states to be sued for discrimination, which includes sexual assault cases on college and university campuses.

Happ called Yost’s motion “shameful,” adding that the OSU should settle the cases with the survivors, according to The Dispatch.