Ex-Wrestler Who Accused Republican Jim Jordan in Abuse Case Gets Arrested
A former Ohio State University wrestler who claims Ohio Republican Congressman Jim Jordan knew about the sexual abuse of athletes during Jordan’s tenure as an Ohio State assistant wrestling coach has been arrested.
Mike DiSabato, 50, was arrested for not appearing in court Friday to respond to a charge of harassment.
The harassment charge was filed by Matthew Finkes, director of devlopment at OSU’s Wexner Medical Center, according to Fox News.
DiSabato’s allegations spurred an investigation into accusations of sexual misconduct against former OSU wrestling team doctor Dr. Richard Strauss.
More than 150 individuals have accused Strauss of sexual misconduct.
Strauss died in 2015.
Jordan, who was an assistant coach from 1986 to 1994, according to NBC, entered the picture after DiSabato accused the Ohio congressman of knowing about the abuse but not blowing the whistle.
Jordan has denied he knew anything about the incidents and has said he received no complaints about Strauss.
“Congressman Jordan never saw any abuse, never heard about any abuse, and never had any abuse reported to him during his time as a coach at Ohio State,” spokesman Ian Fury said last year, according to Fox.
Jordan told Politico that claims he knew of abuse are “not true.”
“I never knew about any type of abuse. If I did, I would have done something about it,” he said last year when the allegations first emerged.
“And look, if there are people who are abused, then that’s terrible and we want justice to happen.”
DiSabato’s attorneys said the court gave him the wrong date to appear.
“I’m a wanted man because of bureaucratic bungling,” DiSabato said, according to NBC.
DiSabato is now set to appear in court on Tuesday.
He and Finkes have dueling allegations of harassment against each other.
In an email to a law firm investigating the allegations against Strauss, DiSabato said Finkes last summer accuser him of engaging in a “money grab & political hit job” against Ohio State and Jordan, according to NBC.
“Please note that this email is the first of several I will be sending regarding the overt / deliberate harassment and retaliation by employees of the University,” DiSabato wrote in the email.
Finkes sent NBC an email that said, “Appreciate you reaching out but I do not have any comment at this time while the case is still active. … I simply wish for Mr. DiSabato to leave me alone.”
In a July 2018 interview with the Columbus Dispatch, DiSabato said he felt compelled to bring the case to light.
“As a father, as a citizen, as a human being with a moral compass, it was my duty to bring this to the attention of not only my teammates but also the university, the values of which I hold dear to my heart — people, tradition, excellence,” DiSabato said.
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