Irvine California – John Manly, who represents more than 200 victims of former USC gynecologist George Tyndall, made his demand in the wake of a new scandal that broke at UCLA involving long-time campus gynecologist John Mason Heaps.
“One of the victims of Dr. Heaps we represent alleges that she complained about his behavior in 2018, four years after UCLA first acknowledged receiving complaints about him. However, the University did not disclose this fact to our client and instead dismissed Dr. Heaps in a secret proceeding much the same way that USC treated Dr. George Tyndall. Unlike USC, UCLA is a public institution funded by taxpayers. Attorney General Becerra has a duty to investigate this institution and determine if any officials or administrators violated the law in their cover-up of the Dr. James Heaps scandal,” said victims’ attorney John Manly.
Mr. Manly also pointed out that Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey indicted Dr. Heaps and charged him with sexual battery for exploitation of two female patients but has not yet charged Dr. Tyndall after a year-long investigation in which more that 700 women have complained of sexual assaults and other inappropriate conduct by Dr. George Tyndall at USC.
“The only difference in these two cases that I can see is that Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey graduated from USC and has maintained a close relationship with that university. Whereas Dr. Heaps assaulted women at USC’s crosstown rival UCLA.
It is clear to me that District Attorney Lacey has a conflict of interest and it is incumbent upon Attorney General Becerra to investigate the situation at USC as well as the situation at UCLA,” said Mr. Manly.
UCLA released a statement in response to the James Heaps scandal which says in part “UCLA has partnered with a trusted third-party resource, Praesidium, which has extensive experience in providing and connecting patients with support services. We encourage any patients with concerns about the care they received from Dr. Heaps to contact Praesidium at 888-961-9273 or visit uclahealth.org/heaps for more information.”
Mr. Manly said “In my opinion, Praesidium is not a trusted third-party resource. They a company that has defended the Catholic Church and other powerful institutions from charges of sexual abuse. Any patients with concerns about the treatment they received by Dr. James Heaps should not contact them or the UCLA Health Office. They should contact the Los Angeles Police Department.”
Manly Stewart & Finaldi is the nation’s leading firm representing athletes in child sexual abuse cases against school districts, Universities, and Olympic Governing Bodies. They recently represented 180 alleged victims of former Olympic Team doctor Larry Nassar, resulting in a $500 million-dollar settlement against Michigan State University. In 2018, the firm settled cases against the Torrance Unified School District for $31 million on behalf of alleged victims of former wrestling coach and convicted child molester Thomas Snider; against Los Angeles Unified School district for $8 million in cases involving former football coach and convicted child molester Jamie Jimenez; and for $14 million in cases involving former Los Angeles Unified District employee Ronnie Lee Roman. The firm has also settled $30 million in claims against Redlands Unified School District.
