The shameful cover-up lasted 40 years. Now, the truth is finally coming out.
The Associated Press reports that Penn State’s legal settlements with Jerry Sandusky’s accusers cover alleged abuse dating to 1971, which was 40 years before his arrest, the university said Sunday, providing the first confirmation of the time frame of abuse claims that have led to big payouts.
The disclosure came as Penn State President Eric Barron decried newly revealed allegations that former football coach Joe Paterno was told in 1976 that Sandusky had sexually abused a child and that two assistant coaches witnessed either inappropriate or sexual contact in the late 1980s. Paterno, who died in 2012, had said the first time he had received a complaint against Sandusky was in 2001.
Barron said the accusations were unsubstantiated, and suggested that the university is being subjected unfairly to what he called rumor and innuendo.
Responding to questions about the president’s statement and claims against the school, university spokesman Lawrence Lokman told The Associated Press he could confirm that the earliest year of alleged abuse covered in Penn State’s settlements is 1971.
Sandusky graduated from Penn State in 1965 and returned as a full-time defensive coach in 1969.
The university has paid out more than $90 million to settle more than 30 civil claims involving Sandusky, now 72 and serving a lengthy prison sentence for the sexual abuse of 10 children. The trial involved only allegations dating as far back as the mid-1990s.
The settlements, including the one covering the 1971 allegation, were reached after Sandusky’s 2012 conviction. But few details have been provided on the payouts by either the school or lawyers for those who said Sandusky victimized them.
The allegations about Paterno and the assistant coaches were cited in a ruling last week by Philadelphia Judge Gary Glazer in litigation between an insurance company and Penn State over how much of the settlement costs the school must bear.
The insurers cited an allegation that a boy had told the longtime Penn State football coach in 1976 that he had been molested by Sandusky. The court document also cited statements, from those claiming they had been Sandusky’s victims, that two unidentified assistant coaches had said they witnessed inappropriate contact between Sandusky and children in the late 1980s.
Barron wrote the university community Sunday that he was “appalled by the rumor, innuendo and rush to judgment” following Glazer’s disclosure of some allegations made against Paterno and some of his assistants.
Barron said those allegations, and others raised in some news reports in recent days, are “unsubstantiated and unsupported by any evidence other than a claim by an alleged victim.”
“Coach Paterno is not alive to refute them. His family has denied them,” Barron said.
Some of the press reports, he said, “should be difficult for any reasonable person to believe.”
Barron said few crimes are as heinous as child sex assault, and the university is committed to prevention, treatment and education.
But he said he had “had enough of the continued trial of the institution in various media.”
Sue Paterno, who has defended her husband’s legacy and said the family had no knowledge of new claims, also called for an end to what she called “this endless process of character assassination by accusation.”
Lokman declined to answer questions about what steps the university took to verify abuse claims during the settlement process, or about what it had done to investigate the new allegations that Paterno and members of his coaching staff knew about Sandusky’s abuse decades before his 2011 arrest.
The university hired settlement experts Kenneth Feinberg and Michael Rozen to handle the claims. Feinberg declined comment. Rozen did not respond to an email from the AP.
In 2001, Paterno told high-ranking university officials one of his assistant coaches reported seeing Sandusky acting inappropriately with a child in a team shower. In 2011, Paterno told a grand jury he did not know of any other incidents involving Sandusky, who retired from Penn State in 1999.
Paterno was fired following Sandusky’s November 2011 arrest and died of lung cancer in January 2012. He was not charged with any crime, and his family is pursuing a lawsuit against the NCAA for commercial disparagement.
Three university officials, including former President Graham Spanier, await trial on criminal charges for their handling of the Sandusky scandal.
Paterno’s coaching was considered great because he coached for so many years. Of course after 40 years he’d win many games. In reality he was just another sleazy phony.
Paterno was considered great because his football teams, as well as its members, have proven themselves. Joe was interested in the total character of his players, not just their prowess on the football field. Jerry Sandusky was and is a total sleeze. Joe Paterno’s crime was by association, not deed. If you read all the FACTS, not the constant innuendo being perpetrated by Monday morning quarterbacks, you will see that Joe followed protocol in place at the time and the powers that be at the university chose to take limited action. Sandusky was being investigated years before his arrest but nothing was done by the legal authorities. The 1976 supposed molestee just coming forward now that an insurance company is on the hook is a pretty good indication of how the system works….wave the money and they come out of the woodwork. The insurer is attempting to mitigate their responsibility by digging up whatever dirt they can. That person has to be close to 50 years old now and would certainly not be harmed personally by coming forward with their identity. It’s easy to place blame on a dead person who constantly personified his morality and generosity. Also take note that his former players stand by him and are at the forefront of getting his statue restored to its rightful place. I would be willing to bet that farm that Main Street gets his limited information from all the naysayers out there that are envious of what Paterno accomplished in his lifetime, as well as his TRUE legacy.
Glorygirl Paterno was ignoring what was happening because he didn’t want to upset the cart. He was an A$$ and if he was alive should be in jail also.
@ Gordon: You are correct. Paterno types are usually loud mouths and very yellow. They thrive in sneaky underhanded environments.
Glorygirl: Paterno proved himself to fit the stereotype. A loud mouth little coward trying to convince others that he was something special. I guess Associated Press and government investigations are rumors to you. He boasted of daily Mass attendance. It must have been the guilt.
@Glorygirl: Wow! His ex players want to put back the joker’s statue. So much more important than the children harmed. So much more important that a bunch of clueless oversized goons playing a kids game worship a morally deficient sleaze.
Joe Paterno knew and lied. On Judgement Day God sent him to hell unless Joe ask for forgiveness. Covering up crimes that make your skin crawl is appalling. If I were the Head Coach I would have had the police on campus the minute I was told. Joe Paterno was involved in a cover up. All those stupid students showing support at his house are retarded. He is a villain not a hero. Hero has been perverted in a way no one really has a clue what one (Hero) is. Joe Paterno, his family, the fans all could have cared less for the victims.
50 plus years of coaching and 40 of them were covered up. In that time Joey only won two National Titles. I guess football is to be protected even if you do not win enough games to win the National Title. Could you imagine Alabama or Ohio State just winning but not the big one. Why did they keep a man who seldom won a National Title. He kept a man on the meal ticket knowing that SOB molested little boys to include his own Step-Son who testified against him. Sandusky’s wife blinded to all this? The Paterno family denies to save face.
You’ve been paved over by your own negligence to bring PROOF rather than citing innuendo and hearsay. Talk all you want…but remember that you KNOW absolutely nothing. You’re just a parrot focused on a stale pack of crackers!
Another phony American icon.
Just like good old Cardinal Law and the rest of the Catholic abusers
Just like good old Cardinal Law and the rest of the Catholic Church abusers.
Dirty Nasty People do not need to be reward or even praise for rather they did a good job… these Pedophiles need Jail and castration
It’s vicious rumor
JoePa was a POS scumbag.. and cult leader..
The sad thing is that PSU continues to exist…. the gov should have used violation of Cleery Act to stop student funding and pushed for loss of accreditation… obviously PSU should not be playing football and should not be in the B10
PSU is more cult than uni
The sick PSU culture is intact and it is this culture that enabled Sandusky…. ALL associated with PSU are guilty
PSU may well be the greatest shame of the past half century in America…..
Tom, you’re quite the ‘cultured’ boob yourself!????
I agree with the above maybe Sanslusky wil get what he deserves in prison before he dies and goes to hell
I agree with the above, maybe San pedafile will get prison justice before he dies and goes to Hell
Our wishy washy judicial system will work it’s miracle’s, once again, and status quo will prevalent.
As long as a coach is winning lots of things get pushed under the rug. These allegations should have been investigated when they were made. It’s unlikely that the paperwork still exists to show when the allegations were made and how they were handled. Many of those involved in the process are likely dead or have forgotten the details of the case a long time ago.
Football gives the faculty fat paychecks, of course, they look the other way.
JOE PATERNO, IS DEAD AND GONE. LET THE MAN REST,NOBODY KNOWS FOR SURE HE KNEW ANYTHING, ON THE OTHER HAND JERRY SANDUSKY WAS A SICK SLEEZE BAG AND I HOPE THE GUYS IN THERE WITH HIM IS DOING TO HIM WHAT HE DID TO THOSE BOYS.
They are not Muslims. That is all I care about. All things are open before God. Why are people not thinking about that?