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Former USC gynecologist George Tyndall’s preliminary hearing resumed Tuesday, with Los Angeles Police Department detective Thomas Townsen testifying about one woman’s sexual assault at the campus health center.
The USC student examined by Tyndall said she was inappropriately touched and asked intrusive questions during a routine medical check-up, according to Townsen. The LAPD detective shared the woman’s experience on her behalf because she was not in attendance. Her story is one of many shared by investigators in a series of preliminary hearings held in criminal court Tuesday.
The graduate student, referred to by the pseudonym “Jane Doe 17″ for the hearing, recounted her uncomfortable experience with the doctor in a series of interviews conducted by Townsen. Townsen has interviewed over 30 alleged victims.
For 30 years, George Tyndall was the only full-time gynecologist at USC. Complaints of his sexual misconduct began in the 1990s, although Tyndall was not asked to resign until 2017. Over 700 women have come forward with allegations of harassment against Tyndall and he currently faces 35 criminal counts of alleged misconduct between the years of 2009 and 2016, according to the L.A. Times.
The preliminary hearings initially began in November 2021 when two USC alumni and former patients testified against Tyndall. It resumed in December 2022 with four additional alumni taking the stand and resumed again Tuesday morning. Preliminary hearings are held in felony cases after a defendant enters a non-guilty plea. When the hearing concludes, the judge will decide whether the evidence presented would warrant a full trial for Tyndall. If convicted, Tyndall could face up to 64 years in prison.
During the hearing, Townsen testified that he had conducted two interviews with Doe 17 between the months of May and June in 2019. According to Townsen’s report, Doe 17 had one medical visit with Tyndall in February 2011 for a routine gynecological exam, in which she described being “felt up” and that Tyndall’s actions were conducted in a “sexual encounter kind of way.”
An L.A. Times article from May 2018 influenced Doe to initially speak out against Tyndall, after recognizing him in an image and realizing he was the same doctor she felt uncomfortable with years prior.
Townsen’s report revealed that he had also spoken to the victim’s mother, who Doe 17 had called after her encounter with Tyndall. According to Townsen’s report, Doe 17 told her mother she was “creeped out” and that she considered the experience “odd and disturbing, like something just wasn’t right.”
During her exam, Doe 17 recalled several questions and comments from Tyndall about her sex life that made her uncomfortable. Townsen shared some of Tyndall’s quotes outloud for the courtroom:
“I see you. I see you’ve had a C-section,” Tyndall said.”It’s nice and tight,” in reference to her vagina.
Doe 17 also said Tyndall asked her specifically about blowjobs and anal sex and about her sex life post-birth. She recounted her breast exam lasting several minutes, while others she had previously took seconds. Doe 17 did not recall Tyndall using gloves when examining the inside of her vagina.
Tyndall was present in the courthouse and is not currently in detention. A total of 11 people attended the hearing, but Doe 17 was not present.
No recordings of the interviews between Townsen and Doe 17 exist. Townsen constantly referred to his reports during the hearing to clarify information and quote his interviewees.