Penn State child sex abuse scandal

The Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal involved allegations in 2011 against former Pennsylvania State University football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and allegations of a university cover-up of those incidents. Sandusky, a longtime defensive coordinator under head coach Joe Paterno, retired in 1999 but retained access to Penn State's athletic facilities. A 2011 grand jury investigation reported that Mike McQueary, then a graduate assistant, told Paterno in 2002 that he had seen Sandusky performing a sex act on a 10-year-old boy in Penn State football's shower facilities. Paterno then reported the allegations to Penn State athletic director Tim Curley. In November 2011, Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts of molesting eight young boys over a 15-year period. In addition, Curley and university Senior Vice President Gary Schultz resigned after being charged with failing to report the incident to police and lying to a grand jury regarding what they knew about the incident. Paterno and University President Graham Spanier were not charged, but both received criticism for their handling of the allegations. On November 9, Paterno announced he would retire at the end of the season, but hours later, Paterno and Spanier were formally removed from their positions by the Penn State Board of Trustees.

Background

Sandusky was a defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team for 23 seasons, under head coach Joe Paterno, a position he retired from in 1999. In 1977 he founded The Second Mile, a children's charity, in State College, Pennsylvania; he retired from that organization in 2010. In 1998 he was investigated by Penn State officials for sexual abuse of a child; that incident was not reported to any law enforcement agency. Upon his retirement from the college, Sandusky negotiated status as coach emeritus which included an office in, and access to, Penn State's football facilities.

Investigation and charges

On November 4, 2011, Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly indicted Sandusky on 40 counts of sex crimes against young boys, following a three-year investigation into allegations that he had inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old boy over the course of four years, beginning when the boy was ten years old. The boy's parents reported the incident to police in 2009. A Pennsylvania statewide investigating grand jury identified eight boys singled out for sexual advances or sexual assaults by Sandusky from 1994 through 2009. At least 20 of the incidents allegedly took place while Sandusky was still employed by Penn State. The mother of one of the alleged victims said that Sandusky personally admitted to inappropriately touching her son while showering with him on campus in 1998. However, Ray Gricar, district attorney of Centre County at that time, declined to press charges.

Illustration of victims, people with knowledge of crimes, and official responses as of November 9, 2011

Sandusky was arrested on November 5 and charged with seven counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse as well as eight counts of corruption of minors, eight counts of endangering the welfare of a child, seven counts of indecent assault, and other offenses. Two Penn State administrators were charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse by Sandusky. Senior vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz, who oversaw the Penn State police department, and Tim Curley, the athletic director, were found to be not credible by the grand jury.

Despite the history no criminal charges were brought against Sandusky until after an investigation initiated in the Spring of 2008 when the mother of one of the boys (identified in court papers as "Victim 1") reported the abuse during his freshman year at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. According to court papers Sandusky had been having a relationship with Victim 1 since 2005 or 2006 when the boy was 11 or 12 and the relationship involved "inappropriate touching." Sandusky had met the boy through the Second Mile program. Sandusky retired from Second Mile in 2010.

According to the indictment, in 2002 Penn State graduate assistant Mike McQueary walked in on a ten-year-old boy (described in court papers as "Victim 2") "being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky" in the Lasch Football Building on the Penn State campus. The next day, he reported the incident to Paterno, who informed Curley. Ultimately, the only action Curley and Schultz took was to order Sandusky not to bring any children from Second Mile to the football building—an action that was approved by school president Graham Spanier. The indictment accused Curley and Schultz of not only failing to tell the police, but falsely telling the grand jury that the graduate assistant never informed them of sexual activity. Since no formal police investigation was conducted at the time, the identity and exact age of Victim 2 is not known. The only formal law enforcement investigation began in December 2010 when McQueary testified before the Grand Jury.

Although Penn State prohibited Sandusky from bringing boys onto the main campus in 2002, Sandusky was allowed to operate a summer camp under his name from 2002 to 2008 at a satellite campus near Erie where he had daily contact with boys from fourth grade to high school.

Sandusky is currently free on $100,000 bail pending trial. He could face life in prison if convicted of the charges. Curley and Schultz appeared in a Harrisburg courtroom on November 7, where a judge set bail at $75,000 and required them to surrender their passports.

Media reaction

While Joe Paterno was not accused of legal wrong doing by the grand jury, advocates for sexual abuse victims have called for charges to be brought against him for not contacting the police himself. On November 7, Pennsylvania state police Commissioner Frank Noonan said that though some may have fulfilled their legal obligation to report suspected abuse, "somebody has to question about what I would consider the moral requirements for a human being that knows of sexual things that are taking place with a child," and that, "I think you have the moral responsibility, anyone. Not whether you're a football coach or a university president or the guy sweeping the building. I think you have a moral responsibility to call us."

Further, criticism and condemnation of Penn State leadership and Paterno himself, including calls for his dismissal, followed reports of these arrests for their role in "protecting Penn State’s brand instead of a child", and allowing Sandusky to retain emeritus status and unfettered access to the university's football program and facilities despite knowledge of the allegations of sexual abuse. In an interview with WFAN, noted sports reporter Kim Jones, a Penn State alumnus, stated that, "I can't believe [Paterno's] heart is that black, where he simply never thought about [Sandusky's 2002 incident] again and never thought about those poor kids who were looking for a male mentor, a strong man in their life." Current TV commentator Keith Olbermann called for Paterno to be immediately fired, saying that "he failed all of the kids—the kid kids and the player kids—he purported to be protecting."

On November 8, 2011, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg published a rare full-page, front-page editorial calling for the immediate resignation of Penn State President Graham Spanier; it also called for this to be Joe Paterno's last season. The same day, an editorial in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called for the resignations of both Joe Paterno and his assistant coach Mike McQueary.

Maureen Dowd, writing a syndicated op-ed, criticized Penn State for allegations that several members of its staff, from the University President down to a graduate assistant, covered up sexual abuse by Sandusky. Dowd compared the alleged cover up to the Catholic Church's reaction to the Catholic church sex scandal.

On November 10, hours after Paterno and Spanier had been fired, Pittsburgh sports talk host Mark Madden, who had written a column in the Beaver County Times on April 3 that had suggested the possibility of a Penn State cover-up, appeared on the Boston sports talk show Dennis and Callahan. He made even more explosive charges on the air, reporting that two prominent columnists were investigating rumors that "Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to rich donors."

Impact

Penn State officially banned Sandusky from campus on November 6. Later that day, Tim Curley was placed on administrative leave, and Gary Schultz resigned to go back into retirement.

On November 8, 2011, Penn State's Spanier canceled Paterno's weekly Tuesday news conference, which was to have been the coach's first public appearance since Sandusky's arrest. Paterno reported that Spanier canceled the press conference without providing Paterno with an explanation. That same day, The New York Times reported that Penn State was planning Paterno's exit at the close of the college football season. Based on interviews with two individuals briefed on conversations among top university officials, the Times reported: "The Board of Trustees has yet to determine the precise timing of Mr. Paterno’s exit, but it is clear that (he) will not coach another season."

The following day, the Associated Press reported that Paterno had decided to retire at the end of the 2011 football season. In a statement announcing his retirement, Paterno said: "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

After the charges came to light, Spanier issued a statement in which he said Curley and Schultz had his unconditional support, and saying they "operate at the highest levels of honesty." Spanier was criticized for expressing support for Curley and Schultz, and failing to express any concern for Sandusky's alleged victims.

Several Penn State students, angered over Spanier's role in the 2002 incident as well as his statement of support for Curley and Schultz, created a Facebook page, "Fire Graham Spanier," in order to call on Penn State's Board of Trustees to fire Spanier. An online petition at change.org calling for Spanier's ouster garnered over 1,700 signatures in four days. On November 9, The Express-Times of Easton, Pennsylvania, first reported that the Board of Trustees had given Spanier an ultimatum—resign before that night's meeting or be fired. Later that day, the board voted to remove both Spanier and Paterno effective immediately. Following Paterno's ouster, rioting occurred near the Penn State campus in reaction. Approximately 10,000 students and others gathered to support Paterno, with some tipping over a news truck and requiring police to use tear gas. No major injuries were reported.

Reactions also included removing Sandusky's image from a mural near the college, and renaming of an ice-cream flavor which had been created in his honor.

External links

• Centre County, Penn. Grand Jury Findings of Facts
• Sandusky, Penn State case timeline