USC Facing Another Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

In December 2020, two former University of South Carolina instructors filed lawsuits against USC, alleging they were sexually harassed by a tenured professor named David Voros. Voros faced accusations of sexual harassment in 2018, from a different party. According to FITS News, “The lawsuit accuses the university of systemically protecting Voros after numerous complaints of his persistent, intimidating and harassing behavior” and that the plaintiffs “were mistreated by the university to the point where they could no longer do their jobs after they complained about Voros.”

Not even a full four months later, USC is facing another lawsuit. Mary Elizabeth Johns, who is represented by Randy Hood, partner at McGowan Hood & Felder, LLC, has filed a lawsuit against history professor and Faculty Principal of Maxcy College Dr. David Snyder, as well as USC and former USC President Harris Pastides. In her suit, Ms. Johns alleges that Snyder sexually harassed her for two years. She says that Snyder, who knew she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was grieving the recent loss of her month to breast cancer, groomed her over those two years to entice her to being a sexual relationship. When Ms. Johns attempted to distance herself from Snyder and cut off contact with him, he continued to pursue her. Mrs. Johns has stated there are 184 strings of emails between her and the professor.

Per the lawsuit, Ms. Johns “told her USC counselor repeatedly about instances of a USC administrator… propositioning her and/or pursuing her sexually. Every time she told the counselor and the counselor did not advise her on Title IX policies is a separate occurrence under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act.” She is accusing the school of failing to protect her.

You can read the lawsuit in full here.

McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC represents student victims of sexual harassment and abuse. If you were harassed, abused, or harmed in any way, we will fight to hold your abusers accountable. Call 803-327-7800, or use our contact page to schedule a free consultation at one of our multiple offices throughout South Carolina. If you prefer to work with a female attorney, we will ensure that you do.