The lead investigator in an internal probe into Penn State's handling of child-sex abuse allegations against a former assistant football coach said today that former head coach Joe Paterno and top university officials were aware of a 1998 allegation but chose to do nothing about it.
Paterno also changed the university's plan to deal with a 2001 allegation against abuse, directing officials not to report former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky to law enforcement, the investigator, former F.B.I. director Louis J. Freeh, said...
And like a modern big time banker it was full-fledged institutional rot that will be promptly forgotten...bygones be bygones and all that tripe:
"Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State," Freeh said.Sorry it got caught.
"The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized," he continued. "Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley never demonstrated, through actions or words, any concern for the safety and well-being of Sandusky’s victims until after Sandusky’s arrest."
And hey, they handled it in very very Catholic way:
Taking into account the available witness statements and evidence, it is morereasonable to conclude that, in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity, themost powerful leaders at Penn State University – Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno andCurley – repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse from theauthorities, the Board of Trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large. Although concern to treat the child abuser humanely was expressly stated, no suchsentiments were ever expressed by them for Sandusky’s victims.