Another story, this one from NBC News, reports that Joe Paterno wasn’t the only coach who knew of Sandusky’s crimes as far back as the 1970s, but that up to six Penn State assistants were aware.
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The first was a 1976 accusation that a child told late longtime Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno of molestation by Sandusky. The order by Philadelphia Judge Gary Glazer also cited reports by unnamed assistant coaches they witnessed inappropriate contact between Sandusky and children, Pennlive.com said.
“Over the past four-and-a-half years Joe Paterno’s conduct has been scrutinized by an endless list of investigators and attorneys”, the Paterno family’s attorney, Wick Sollers, said in a statement in obtained by PennLive. The university has also paid out more than $90 million to settle 32 civil claims involving Sandusky.
Sandusky is appealing under the Post-Conviction Relief Act, which aims to address newly found evidence, constitutional violations, or ineffective lawyering, CBS reported. And when he told her, she and her husband – who owned a local bowling alley and knew many high-ranking school officials – called Penn State against his wishes. Penn State is now in a legal battle with insurers in which the university is hoping to recoup some of the $60 million in settlements it has paid out to Sandusky’s victims.
It seems unlikely. Paterno’s family has demanded a “full review of facts” but it’s unclear why the person making this allegation would ever come forward. Two other coaches were reported in documents related to Penn State’s lawsuit against its insurer to have witnessed Sandusky molesting children. “I’m a Penn State guy, but I think he was wrong for what he did or what he didn’t do”.
Caldwell was Penn State’s quarterbacks coach in 1986-92. Glazer said the events are described “in a number of the victims’ depositions”.
Michael Boni, a lawyer who represented some of the Sandusky claimants, voiced caution about the new Paterno allegations. Paterno was never charged with any crimes. He maintained that he knew nothing about Sandusky’s sexual assault on children.
Sandusky is appealing his conviction while he serves a 30 to 60-year sentence in the state prison near Waynesburg, Pa. Marci Hamilton, a NY law professor who has represented some of his victims, said “overwhelming evidence” shows he was a serial pedophile.
Kline said the new disclosure “provides one more link in the chain which has been repeatedly denied by those who refuse to come to terms with the tragic reality here”.
“I felt his presence behind me”, he said.
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“We strongly encourage the members of the Board of Trustees and the University Administration to join together with the Paterno family to develop an appropriate plan to honour Joe Paterno this year”, the association wrote in a letter obtained by Onward State. The documents point not only to the 1976 claim, but also to three other reported incidents tied to the late 1980s.
