More Gay/Bi students have come forward to sue the USC doctor who gave them unwanted prostate exams.
Back in March, 21 gay and bisexual students at the University of Southern California sued a university physician for sexual misconduct.
Apparently, Dr. Dennis Kelly, who was the only physician available to men at the college, would subject any boy who expressed being LGBTQ to a prostate exam and invasive questions about their sex life. Many of the men were just seeing a doctor by themselves for the first time and didn’t understand that this practice was unusual until several accounts of Dr. Kelly’s acts became public knowledge.
Then in February, six plaintiffs came forward to sue Dr. Kelly (and USC for their neglect over the situation). 15 men later joined the lawsuit.
Dr. Kelly did not treat heterosexual men in a similar manner and did not … perform rectal examinations on heterosexual men who had similar sexual practices,” said the updated suit.
“Despite receiving repeated complaints regarding Dr. Kelly’s misconduct, USC actively and deliberately failed to investigate, discipline, or address Dr. Kelly’s sexually abusive and discriminatory behavior and instead, continued to employ Dr. Kelly for years, allowing him unencumbered access to sexually abuse, harass, and discriminate against Plaintiffs and other male gay and bisexual USC students in his care,” the suit added.
Now, 18 additional men have come forward to join the lawsuit against Dr. Kelly, according to local news source KTLA5. In addition, two victims publicly discussed their experiences for the first time during a press conference on Thursday.
According to student reports, Dr. Kelly would ask the boys if they used sex toys and what kind. He asked one patient if he was into older men or “twinks” and how often he topped or bottomed.
One plaintiff says that Kelly, while inserting a medical device into his rectum, asked him, “How often do you let your partners come in you?”
One patient who was the victim of sexual assault went to Kelly for medical help after suffering from rectal pain and bleeding. He was then forced to go through a rectal exam and asked to recount the event despite asking not to. Kelly then allegedly told the patient that his experience was “normal sexual activity” and something “people do for pleasure.” He then asked the patient if he welcomed or enjoyed forcible penetration.
Student Jalal-Kamali said that Kelly made him uncomfortable with inappropriate questions and “the creepy smile that he had on his face throughout the conversation.”
Kelly allegedly mocked and shamed Jalal-Kamali “for anything and everything he felt like he could, based on information he forced out of me, as if it brought him some sick joy or satisfaction,” according to the student. said. “He went on to objectify my partner at the time based on my partner’s racial stereotypes, reducing his humanity to the potential size of his genitals.”
Jalal-Kamali stated that he had to return to the doctor in hopes of receiving PrEP medication.
“The process continued as I had more and more visits because he demanded it, and because he forced me to come again and again without providing PrEP medicine,” Jalal-Kamali said. “I felt so uncomfortable that I finally decided not to pursue getting PrEP medication anymore while I got into a monogamous relationship, and because Kelly made it so difficult for me to get it.”
Eventually, Jalal-Kamali went to a different medical facility to get the medication he was looking for.
32-year-old John Keyes, who attended USC in 2006, also says that he was bothered by Kelly while attending the school.
“Dr. Kelly’s bedside manner was immediately off-putting,” Keyes said. “I remember him focusing on specific details, such as where I met my sexual partners, whether I frequented sex clubs or participated in online sex chats.
Kelly apparently made several offensive terms that implied Keyes was sexually promiscuous.
“I didn’t know why Dr. Kelly was making these comments, or how I was supposed to interpret them,” he recounted.
Keyes says when he went back to Dr. Kelly a year later, and the experience was more of the same.
“Like clockwork, he insisted on performing another rectal exam,” Keyes said. “More than just the crass and unprofessional language, it was Dr. Kelly’s insistence on the rectal exam — knowing how he would perform it — that made me fearful all over again. The knot I felt in the pit of my stomach was how no patient should feel with their doctor.”
USC released a statement to say to that its aware of the lawsuit and finds the allegations concerning.
“We’re working to understand the facts of this matter,” the statement reads. “We care deeply about our entire Trojan family, including our LGBTQ+ community, and take this matter very seriously.”
