USC gynecologist scandal: Dr. George Tyndall arrested by LAPD amid sexual assault investigation

LOS ANGELES -- Former USC gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting 16 young women while they were under his care, authorities announced.

The 71-year-old Tyndall was taken into custody at his apartment but had not yet been booked as of Wednesday morning, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The arrest was made after a lengthy investigation by the agency's elite Robbery-Homicide Division, which handles high-profile cases.

Prosecutors said the alleged assaults occurred over the course of seven years while Tyndall worked at the USC campus health center. He was charged with 18 counts of sexual penetration and 11 counts of sexual battery by fraud, both of which are felonies.

The alleged victims, who range in age from 17 to 29, went to the facility for annual exams or for other treatment between 2009 and 2016, the D.A.'s office said.

Tyndall, who has denied the allegations, spent about three decades as a USC staff gynecologist before retiring last year after a USC investigation concluded there was evidence he sexually harassed students during physical examinations.

In a statement, USC Interim President Wanda M. Austin said the school was "awaiting further details" on the arrest.

"We have cooperated with the LAPD and District Attorney's Office investigations since the beginning and will continue to do so," Austin said. "We care deeply about our community and our top priority continues to be the well-being of our students, health center patients and university community. We hope this arrest will be a healing step for former patients and our entire university."

Prosecutors recommended that bail be set at $2.075 million in the case. Tyndall faces a possible maximum sentence of 53 years in state prison if convicted as charged, the D.A.'s office said.