At a news conference, one of the lawyers, John Manly, of the law firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, said he hoped the size of the settlement would send a message to U.C.L.A. and leaders of other academic institutions that looking away from sexual misconduct could be costly.“If you do this, if you don’t stop systemic criminal conduct,” he said, “be it by a doctor, the president of the university or anybody else at your school, you will be held accountable.”Standing by Mr. Manly on Tuesday was Kara Cagle, a woman who said she wrote a three-page letter to U.C.L.A. officials shortly after she was abused by Dr. Heaps during a medical examination. Ms. Cagle said she had been undergoing treatment for a rare form of breast cancer. The experience with Dr. Heaps, she said, left her “violated, embarrassed and humiliated.”“U.C.L.A.’s response was dismal,” Ms. Cagle said. “No interview. No validation. Today, after eight long years, I received recognition of what happened to me. Although there is some consolation in that, my heart breaks for all the women who were not spared, all the women who suffered after me because U.C.L.A. refused to act.”In a statement, U.C.L.A. officials said they admired the courage of the plaintiffs in coming forward. They also said that University of California leadership has taken “substantial action” to address issues brought up in litigation, including stronger policies and procedures to prevent and respond to allegations of sexual misconduct by a clinician.“The conduct alleged to have been committed by Heaps is reprehensible and contrary to the university’s values,” the statement said. “Our first and highest obligation will always be to the communities we serve, and we hope this settlement is one step toward providing healing and closure for the plaintiffs involved.”
Major Settlements in University Sexual Abuse Cases
Card 1 of 52013: Penn State University. The university agreed to pay nearly $60 million to 26 sexual abuse victims of the former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted in 2012 of abusing young boys in a scandal that shook the world of college football.2018: Michigan State University. Victims of Lawrence G. Nassar, a former school physician and team doctor for U.S.A. Gymnatics who sexually abused athletes both from the school and outside it, reached a $500 million settlement with the university. Nassar was sentenced to what amounted to life in prison.2021: University of Southern California. A $1.1 billion settlement with the former patients of George Tyndall, a campus gynecologist who was accused of preying on hundreds of patients, set a record for collegiate sex abuse payouts.2022: University of Michigan. The university reached a $490 million settlement with more than 1,000 people who had accused Robert E. Anderson, a doctor who worked with football players and other students, of decades of sexual abuse.Mr. Levine, Dr. Heaps’s lawyer, said he has filed a motion to dismiss the indictment because exculpatory evidence was not presented to the grand jury, including medical records and statements from chaperones who were present during the medical examinations. Mr. Levine said he was struck that the civil payout came before the criminal case was litigated.