Billionaire Leslie Wexner has been ordered to testify in a lawsuit brought by a group of former Ohio State University students who say they were sexually assaulted decades ago by campus doctor Richard Strauss and their alma mater did nothing to stop him.
The ruling, which was handed down Tuesday in the Southern District of Ohio, was a victory for the ex-students, who have been trying since September to compel Wexner, a former member of the OSU board of trustees, to testify.
The Strauss survivors held noisy protests at the end of last year after they alleged Wexner’s security and lawyer had repeatedly thwarted their process servers’ attempts to deliver a subpoena to Wexner. At the protests, they repeatedly brought up his past friendship and business relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They also publicly demanded that Wexner’s name be removed from a football facility that was built with his money.
It took the intervention of U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson in January to finally serve Wexner with a subpoena by using alternative means, prompting the billionaire’s lawyers to file a motion last month to quash that subpoena.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Watson acknowledged Wexner’s complaints about being subjected to a “publicity campaign” but denied the motion to quash the subpoena.
“Plaintiffs are entitled to discover what Mr. Wexner knew about Dr. Strauss and when he knew it,” the order states.
Wexner, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the Strauss case, was an OSU board member when Strauss allegedly abused young men at the school, mostly under the guise of doing physicals, from the mid-1970s to the late 1990s. Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
Strauss was never charged in relation to the abuse allegations, but the results of an OSU investigation published in 2019 found that “at least 177 male students were sexually abused by Strauss.”
Wexner must sit for a deposition within 60 days, according to the court order.
A spokesperson for Wexner declined to comment on the ruling.
Wexner made his fortune as the founder of L Brands, which included retailers Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.
“I am happy that billionaires cannot buy their way out of the justice system,” said Steve Snyder-Hill, a former OSU student who is one of the 236 men currently suing Ohio State for damages and who have been seeking to depose Wexner.
Mike DiSabato, a former OSU wrestler and Strauss accuser who led the on-campus demonstrations demanding that Wexner testify, said the judge’s ruling “reinforces that no individual is above the search for truth and accountability.”
“Survivors deserve transparency, and meaningful answers are essential for justice,” said DiSabato.
This is not the only subpoena that Wexner is facing.
His name appears in the Epstein files and he was once branded an Epstein co-conspirator by the FBI, according to a 2019 document. He has been ordered by the House Oversight Committee to testify on Feb. 18 about his ties to Epstein.
A Wexner legal representative said in a statement Tuesday: “The Assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was neither a co-conspirator nor target in any respect. Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again.”
While Epstein was the primary money manager and investor for Wexner, the Ohio mogul has insisted that he cut ties with Epstein after he was accused of sexually abusing minors in Florida. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in jail on sex trafficking charges.
Wexner has also denied any knowledge of an allegation made by Epstein survivor Maria Farmer, who alleged in a 2020 lawsuit against the Epstein estate that she was assaulted in 1996 by Epstein at an Ohio property “owned and secured” by Wexner and his wife, Abigail Wexner.
One of the lawmakers who sits on the House Oversight Committee is Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, whose primary role has been serving as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
Jordan, who was OSU’s assistant wrestling coach from 1986 to 1994, when Strauss was allegedly preying on students, was deposed in July by lawyers for the students who are currently suing Ohio State.
While DiSabato and other former OSU wrestlers have accused Jordan of turning a blind eye to Strauss’ abuse, the powerful congressman has repeatedly and publicly denied any knowledge that Strauss was preying on the athletes.
A spokesperson for Jordan did not answer a question asking whether the congressman intends to question Wexner at the House Oversight Committee hearing, but the spokesperson reiterated that Jordan “never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it.”
