Written by staff writer Moting Jiang
A patient alleged being sexually assaulted while receiving treatment at the Keck Hospital of USC, according to campus safety officials.
The reports released on Monday detail that the victim was a patient of Keck, who was "assaulted by an unidentified staff member." The sexual assault was listed on the report as both a "rape" and "sex offense."
The exact time of the incident is unclear. According to the report, it occurred sometime between early Friday morning and 2 a.m. on Saturday.
These accusations come after a tumultuous series of scandals involving staff from both Keck and the USC community.
This summer more than 200 USC students alleged campus gynecologist George Tyndall sexually abused students for almost 30 years, after which the former USC president C.L. Max Nikias stepped down. Last year, USC terminated the brief deanship of Dr. Rohit Varma at Keck, who replaced former dean Carmen Puliafito – the disgraced ophthalmologist who was the subject of an LA Times investigative series that uncovered a history of drug abuse and distribution to minors.
The investigator, Department of Public Safety Detective Aron Drake, said the victim could not identify the suspect but believed he or she worked at the hospital. No one has been suspended or arrested at Keck so far, partly because Drake said it is uncertain that the incident "actually occurred."
Miscommunication could have happened when the report was recorded, Drake said, as the patient is a Spanish speaker. The victim is not a USC student, faculty or staff, he said.
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Outside the LAPD Hollenbeck Division, who is leading investigations
Given the severity of sex offense accusations, DPS notified and turned over this case to the LAPD Hollenbeck division after doing a primary investigation.
Detective Sunny Romero at LAPD Hollenbeck said further details were not available.
"I cannot give you any information," Romero said. "Any of it."
The Office of Integrated Risk Management at Keck, which is responsible for handling sexual misconduct accusations at the hospital, declined to disclose any information.
The LAPD is continuing its investigation of the incident.