See updates at bottom of post.
In 1998 Jerry Sandusky, a prominent assistant coach on Penn State’s top-ranked football team — and a possible successor to Joe Paterno as the team’s head coach — groped an 11-year-old boy in the team’s showers. The boy’s mother learned of this incident, she reported it to Penn State police. Sandusky later admitted to police that he had hugged the boy naked in the showers.
No charges were brought, and Sandusky retired the following year, retaining emeritus status at Penn State, an office in the university’s football building, and full access to the team’s facilities.
In 2000 Penn State janitors witnessed Sandusky performing oral sex on a male child in the football team’s showers. They reported the incident to their supervisor, who took no action. The janitors, fearing that they would lose their jobs if they took the matter forward, made no formal complaint about the incident.
In 2002 a Penn State graduate coaching assistant witnessed Sandusky anally raping a ten-year-old boy in the team’s showers. He told coach Joe Paterno, and then Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz, the latter of whom had authority over the university’s police. None of these officials reported the allegations to any police agency, nor did Penn State president Graham B. Spanier when he was notified.
Sandusky continued to have access to Penn State facilities, and to travel with the team, until his arrest Saturday on 40 counts of sexual abuse, allegations involving eight victims and incidents stretching from 1994 to 2009. Curley and Schultz have been indicted on perjury and failure to report charges stemming from the 2002 incident. Schultz has retired, and Curley has been placed on administrative leave, while Spanier and Paterno remain in their positions.
Spanier has said he has “complete confidence in how” Curley and Schultz “handled the allegations.” The university is paying the two men’s legal bills.
Paterno has more victories than any football coach in NCAA Division I history. His salary stands in excess of one million dollars a year, making him the highest-paid employee at Penn State.
Update | A statement from NCAA president Mark Emmert Monday evening condemned the sexual abuse of children but made no reference to the alleged Penn State coverup of Sandusky’s behavior.
Second Update | Paterno just canceled his weekly press conference, less than an hour before it was to begin.
Third Update, 12:20 pm | The New York Times is reporting that Penn State officials have decided that Paterno will not remain at Penn State, and that his departure could come “within days or weeks.”
Fourth Update, 1:25 pm | Now the Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that support for Paterno and Spanier is “eroding” on the Penn State Board of Trustees, and that the board could vote to remove both as soon as Thursday.
Fourth Update, Wednesday 9:30 am | A thousand Penn State students marched in response to the ongoing crisis last night, many of them supporters of Coach Paterno. Some called for the resignation of President Spanier, while others simply declared their support for Penn State itself.
Fifth Update, Wednesday 10:10 am | The Associated Press is now reporting that Paterno will retire at the end of this season. Penn State’s trustees met last night by phone and will meet again this evening — they are expected to announce the formation of a committee to investigate the scandal on Friday.
4 comments
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November 10, 2011 at 11:00 am
Danny Axson
Any one proven to have knowledge of such a horrible crime and actively tried to cover up cover it up should be charged with conspiracy for failure to notify the police of such activity with a child. Even the janitor should face punishment for the same reason. The loss of a job doesn’t excuse his failure to report the incident to police. Futher criminal investigation should follow with indictments handed down on criminal charges to the conspirators, including Paterno. Firing people is not enough. They should be procecuted like anyone else that has paticipated in crimes.
November 10, 2011 at 8:07 pm
Goob
It will be decades before Penn State can recover from this issue. Folks are already calling it “Broke Back U”.
What a pity.
November 11, 2011 at 11:34 am
Joan
A sad chapter in the history of Penn State and all my sympathies go to the victims of the horrors perpetrated by a man who by false means earned their trust. They are men who are dealing with events from their childhood who will have to relive the events when this goes to trial. My heart goes out to the survivors of this horrible abuse.
November 27, 2011 at 11:32 pm
David
The sad part is that it has become a, “joke”. The, “brokeback” comments implies consent. None existed in these allegations. Sygn of the Tymes.
Unfortunately, it was neither McQueary’s nor Paternos’ legal obligation and responsibility to report the abuse. The grand jury stated it was the AD & the VP’s responsibility to report it to PA’s equivalent of Child Protective Services. No law existed or exists that requires reporting to a law enforcement agency. Hopefully that will be changed.
Now the four are in hiding, and Sandusky runs free on an unsecured bond. To the store, the school, to wherever he wants to go.
Ain’t justice grand?