(Reuters) – A former San Jose State University sports medicine director was charged on Thursday with sexually assaulting female student athletes over multiple years.
Four women at the Northern California university accused Scott Shaw, 54, of inappropriate touching between 2017 and 2020 during medical exams that were set up under the pretext of injury treatment, according to a press release. He was also an athletic trainer at the university.
Federal prosecutors say Shaw committed civil rights violations by touching the athletes’ breasts and buttocks without consent or cause. They also allege he acted under color of law, or pretended to act in the performance of his official duties, as a state employee for the California State University system.
Shaw is scheduled to make his first appearance in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen. He could face a maximum of six years in prison if convicted on all counts, the news release said.
A lawyer for Shaw has not been identified.
The charges come in the wake of high-profile sexual misconduct cases involving sports doctors that unfolded at colleges across the country, including California and Michigan.
In 2018, Michigan State University agreed to a $500 million settlement after hundreds of women were sexually abused by disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. He was sentenced up to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal sexual conduct.
The University of Michigan agreed in January to a $490 million payout to 1,050 people to resolve claims of sexual assault against a former sports doctor. Most victims were male athletes.
Last year, the University of California made a record $852 million settlement with more than 700 women who claimed an ex-gynecologist sexually abused them as patients on campus. The prestigious school was also accused of trying to cover it up.
The sexual abuse scandal at San Jose State University cast a cloud over the campus for the past year, leading it to make two settlements totaling almost $5 million, KPIX-TV reported.
(Reporting by Tyler Clifford)
