More news is developing in the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal: NBC News is reporting as many as six assistant coaches on Joe Paterno’s Penn State football staff witnessed Sandusky’s “inappropriate behavior” with boys.
Advertisement
The allegations were revealed in an order this week by Philadelphia Judge Gary Glazer in litigation between an insurance company and Penn State.
The judge affirmed that Paterno, some of his assistants and even Penn State’s athletic director knew about these allegations against Sandusky, but because they were not executive officers at the university the school was still covered.
Glazer granted and denied claims for both the university and the insurance company. The documents point not only to the 1976 claim, but also to three other reported incidents tied to the late 1980s.
Paterno, who died in 2012, had said that an assistant’s report in 2001 of Sandusky attacking a boy in the shower was the first he knew of such allegations against Sandusky.
Former Penn State president Graham B. Spanier and two other administrators are awaiting trial on charges that they ignored or concealed signs that Sandusky was molesting boys.
A previously little known court order is raising new questions about when top Penn State coaches, administrators and officials knew of sexual abuse allegations against former Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky.
Sandusky is serving 30 to 60 years for his crimes. A number of depositions from the victims included as evidence in the case’s docket are sealed. Penn State had hoped to see some of those funds reimbursed through various insurance coverages, but one of the college’s primary carriers, the aforementioned PMAI, has pushed back.
In the opinion, the judge wrote that witnesses had testified that Paterno was told of abuse at least three times before the alleged incidents that led to Sandusky’s 2012 conviction.
The court filing also refers to separate instances in 1987 and 1988 “in which unnamed assistant coaches witnessed inappropriate contact between Sandusky and unidentified children”. According to Sports Illustrated legal analyst Mike McCann, “The key legal issue for purposes of whether Penn State has a right to collect on its insurance policy with PMA is whether Penn State expected or intended the bodily injuries that Sandusky inflicted upon his many victims”. A second coach declined to comment.
The victim, now 62, spoke with CNN’s Sara Ganim about the incident.
In the spirit of our love for Penn State and our duty to the victims, let’s stop fighting about process and start fighting for the truth.
Paterno was not charged with any crime, and his family is pursuing a lawsuit against the NCAA for commercial disparagement, arguing the association’s since-abolished consent decree with Penn State over the Sandusky scandal damaged their commercial interests and value. More importantly, Coach Paterno is not here to defend himself.
Advertisement
“Because it’s just an allegation and because they were so heavily scrutinized for the punishment they meted out before, it doesn’t seem likely the NCAA is going to investigate this allegation that’s under seal”, Grieb said.
