Researchers at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center where Dustin Thompson worked. Credit: The Wexner Medical Center
A former assistant director at the Wexner Medical Center, and a former employee of Ohio State’s department of safety were found to be responsible for more than 350 fondling reports of sexual misconduct following a 2023 investigation by university officials.
The Ohio State Office of Institutional Equity investigation found “sufficient evidence” to conclude Dustin Thompson, the assistant director of hospital security was responsible for a majority of 366 reports of sexual harassment, non-consensual sexual contact and sexual exploitation in incidents most of which extended back to 2018, according to records obtained by The Lantern.
In addition, an Ohio State Department of Safety employee, Matt Wolfzorn, was also found to have sufficient evidence of sexual exploitation from incidents, many of which involved Thompson at Wolfzorn’s house in 2018.
Though the incidents took place over years, they were first reported publicly in the 2024 annual security report, which Ohio State releases each year to meet federal reporting requirements. Details of the records were supplied by the university under a Freedom of Information Act on Dec. 8.
“The safety of Ohio State students and employees is our top priority. The allegations in this case are disturbing and antithetical to Ohio State’s values and workplace culture,” Dan Hedman, a university spokesperson, said in an email. “We urge anyone who is the victim of harassment or suspects harassment to report it immediately. Reports can be anonymous, and all reports are thoroughly investigated.”
When contacted, Wolfzorn declined to comment, writing in an email that he is not ready to retell the events publicly. Thompson, via his attorney, did not respond in time for publication.
On May 31, 2023, the Institutional Equity office, more commonly called OIE, received a formal complaint regarding Thompson and Wolfzorn from two contracted employees of KNS Services, a security system contractor for Ohio State.
Both Thompson and Wolfzorn resigned in lieu of being fired in October and November 2023, respectively, after the OIE’s determination, according to the records.
According to the first complaint filed by a KNS employee who was not identified, Thompson was accused of harassing the employee, with Thompson telling him Thompson could not trust him and would fire him if he did not listen to what Thompson wanted him to do, according to the records.
Statements from the employee and witness accounts mentioned sexual acts. In one specific instance, in 2018 at Wolfzorn’s house, Thompson invited one of the KNS employees to a “girl’s night” and proceeded to say Thompson would not talk about work issues unless the employee exposed himself, according to the records.
In his OIE interview, Wolfzorn said he developed a relationship with Thompson while working on a major project with him when he was 21 years old. Eighteen years Wolfzorn’s senior, he said he relied on Thompson to share the project idea with people in senior positions and secure funding for the project.
In the report, Wolfzorn stated that he felt pressured and manipulated by Thompson into discussing personal matters so that Thompson could assist him with projects. Whenever Wolfzorn said he was uncomfortable, Thompson would claim that they were not actually close friends.
“It gets to a certain point where you become numb to it or it’s easier just to… give in and not even express it (discomfort) anymore,” Wolfzorn said in the report.
Wolfzorn recalled examples of Thompson pressuring him to do various physical actions like standing barefoot in the snow, standing in a garage nude and others. Wolfzorn declined to explain further, the report said.
The KNS employee said he wasn’t comfortable exposing himself, according to records. As a result, the employee stated that Thompson and Wolfzorn stopped discussing work-related topics.
After that incident, the KNS employee said Thompson would make work more difficult “by submitting an excessive number of service calls and verbally abusing KNS employees.”
The employee went to another “girl’s night,” where Thompson said the KNS employee had to expose himself again or he would not become a project manager. The employee agreed, because he said he believed Thompson had sole authority of who would take on that role.
After the first “girl’s night,” the employee claimed one witness would create extra tasks at work and frequently insult KNS employees. After the second “girl’s night,” the witness state Thompson lightened the employee’s workload and hired him as a project manager, according to the reports.
Wolfzorn denied asking the employee to expose himself, but stated that he could see how the situation might have occurred with Thompson, as Thompson had exerted pressure and manipulation on him to do similar things, the report said.
Thompson told investigators he did pants the employee, would wrestle and would grab the employee’s butt often, but nothing more happened, according to the report.
After becoming project manager, the KNS employee said over the next two years, Thompson would touch his chest, poke his stomach, rub his upper leg and smack his butt about once a week, the report said.
Witnesses described the KNS employee as visibly distressed and upset while he was a project manager, a change in his behavior from his previous role.
At Thompson’s house, the second KNS employee, who already was a project manager, stated that Thompson told him to undress fully to make sure the employee could adapt as a project manager and that they would work well together.
The employee said that incident pushed him to decide to quit the position and return to being a technician with KNS. Records show the employee said that Thompson spread rumors that damaged his reputation, ultimately leading him to leave KNS.
The employee said Thompson began escalating his actions at work in Thompson’s office, the report said. Throughout the year, the employee claimed Thompson would untuck his shirt, pull his waistband or try to tug at his pants.
Also at the KNS employee’s house, he said Thompson removed all of his clothing and stood naked in front of the employee, which made him uncomfortable, the records show.
The KNS employee claims Thompson told him to take off his pants and underwear, justifying the actions because Thompson said the employee would fail at work and the only thing to him was a “‘shock value.’” To keep his job, the employee complied, the report said.
The reports said Thompson walked over and touched the employee, where he moved away after a second and told Thompson never to touch him again, to which Thompson complied.
Thompson told investigators the reported interactions were part of their friendship outside of work and did not impact their jobs. Thompson also claimed that he had no control over promotions for KNS employees, but did provide feedback.
