University of Michigan to pay half billion dollars to sexual assault victims

The University of Michigan in the United States announced yesterday that it will pay nearly half a billion dollars to one thousand of its alumni and athletes who were sexually abused by a doctor at the institution.

The university launched a consultation process in 2020, under the auspices of a federal judge, to compensate its victims. The parties eventually agreed on a sum of $ 490 million.

The agreement, one of the most important to date in a university sexual abuse case, will have to be formally ratified by all parties, according to a press release sent to Agence France-Presse.

The case concerns the actions of Dr. Richard Anderson, who worked at the University of Ann Arbor from 1966-2003 and died in 2008.

Hundreds of students and members of sports teams, mostly boys and men, had accused him in recent years of sexually assaulting them during routine exams.

A report, compiled by a law firm at the request of the university, confirmed that the doctor "had abusive sexual behavior towards his patients".

"We hope this agreement will allow the survivors to begin the healing process," Jordan Acker, who chairs the University of Michigan, told a news conference.