The University of California will pay almost 250 million dollars to 203 women who claim to have been abused by the school gynecologist, authorities said Tuesday.
james heaps was attached to the university’s headquarters in Los Angeles (UCLA) for 35 years, and treated thousands of patients.
Hundreds of lawsuits allege that UCLA deliberately hid cases of sexual abuse from patients and allowed it to continue to have access to victims for years.
In a settlement filed in a Los Angeles court, the university agreed to pay $243.6 million to 203 women who say they were abused by Heaps.
Heaps faces 21 counts of sexual abuse. against seven women.
“Heaps’ alleged behavior is reprehensible and contrary to the values of the University,” a statement said Tuesday.
“Our main and most important obligation will always be with the communities we serve, and we hope that this agreement is a step forward that contributes to the whistleblowers being able to heal and close cycles.”
“We admire the courage of the complainants,” the text continued.
The settlement follows another signed by the University of Michigan, which has agreed to pay $490 million to hundreds of students and athletes who were sexually abused by university doctor Richard Anderson.
Michigan State University also reached a million-dollar settlement with 300 people who were abused by Dr. Larry Nassar, who also treated members of the United States women’s Olympic gymnastics team.
The University of Southern California announced in March of last year that it had reached three settlements totaling $1.1 billion with hundreds of students sexually abused by a school gynecologist.