PHILADELPHIA —
Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno and other senior Penn State officials “concealed critical facts” about Jerry Sandusky’s child abuse because they were worried about bad publicity, according to an internal investigation into the scandal.
The 267-page report released today is the result of an eight-month inquiry by former FBI director Louis Freeh, hired by university trustees weeks after Sandusky was arrested in November to look into what has become one of sports’ biggest scandals.
The report concluded that Paterno, president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz “failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade.”
“In order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity, the most powerful leaders at the university — Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley — repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse,” the report said.
Sexual abuse might have been prevented if university officials had banned him from bringing children onto campus after a 1998 inquiry, the report said. Despite their knowledge of the police probe into Sandusky showering with a boy in a football locker room, Spanier, Paterno, Curley and Schultz took no action to limit his access to campus, the report said.
The May 1998 complaint by a woman whose son came home with wet hair after showering with Sandusky didn’t result in charges at the time. The report says Schultz was worried the matter could be opening “Pandora’s box.”
Officials later did bar him from bringing children to campus.
Sandusky is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of 45 criminal counts. The scandal led to the ouster of Paterno and the school’s president.
Trustee Anthony Lubrano, a critic of the board’s dismissal of Paterno in November, said the board was still formulating a response.
The report also singled out the revered Penn State football program — one built on the motto “success with honor” — for criticism. It says Paterno and university leaders allowed Sandusky to retire in 1999, “not as a suspected child predator, but as a valued member of the Penn State football legacy, with future ‘visibility’ at Penn State’,” allowing him to groom victims.
Sandusky’s trial last month included gut-wrenching testimony from eight young men who said he abused them as boys, sometimes on campus, and included testimony that showed he used his prestige as a university celebrity to manipulate the children.
By contrast, Freeh’s team focused on Penn State and what its employees did — or did not do — to protect children.
More than 430 current or former school employees were interviewed since November, including nearly everyone associated with the football program under Paterno. The Hall of Fame coach died of lung cancer in January at age 85, without telling Freeh’s team his account of what happened.
With the report now complete, the NCAA said Penn State now must address four key questions concerning “institutional control and ethics policies,” as outlined in a letter sent to the school last fall.
“Penn State’s response to the letter will inform our next steps, including whether or not to take further action,” said Bob Williams, the NCAA’s vice president of communications. “We expect Penn State’s continued cooperation in our examination of these issues.”
The U.S. Department of Education is examining whether the school violated the Clery Act, which requires reporting of certain crimes on campus, including ones of a sexual nature. The report said Penn State’s “awareness and interest” in Clery Act compliance was “significantly lacking.”
Only one form used to report such crimes was completed on campus from 2007 through 2011, according to the Freeh findings. And no record exists of Paterno, Curley or assistant coach Mike McQueary reporting that McQueary saw Sandusky in a shower with a boy in 2001, as they would be obligated to do under the Clery Act.
As of last November, Penn State’s policies for Clery compliance were still in draft form and had not been implemented, the report found.
U.S. Department of Education said it was still examining whether Penn State violated the Clery Act, but declined to comment on Freeh’s report.
Mary Krupa, an 18-year-old Penn State freshman who grew up in State College, said the conclusion that the school’s highest officials were derelict in protecting children didn’t shake her love of the town or the school.
“The actions of five or six people don’t reflect on the hundreds of thousands” of students and faculty who make up the Penn State community, she said while walking through the student union building on campus.
Armas reported from Scranton and Scolforo from Harrisburg. Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.
Sports
Report: Penn St. officials concealed abuse
- Sports
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IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, stands in his team pit box as he waits for the start of the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman's Evans honored as Great Lakes' top athlete
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Indiana State baseball series canceled
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman's Evans honored as Great Lakes' top athlete
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Freshman Hambrock, THS seek semistate tennis title
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- College
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Sycamores bow out of MVC Tournament
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Metro Sports: Chalk up No. 5 for Liz Evans
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Four Indiana State athletes advance to NCAA outdoor track and field championships
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Wichita State shuts out ISU to force elimination-game rematch
Indiana State starting pitcher Greg Kuhlman did his best.
Actually, he did far better than he ever has previously in an ISU uniform, but while Kuhlman’s gutty pitching effort spoke volumes, ISU’s bats remained ominously silent. -
Indiana State baseball now one win from MVC Championship
Indiana State’s Wednesday morning wish list probably read something like this: a dominant complete game effort from starting pitcher Devin Moore, near-immaculate defense to support him, and a steady diet of clutch situational hitting from lineup spots one to nine.
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Sycamores bow out of MVC Tournament
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Sunday promises to be big day in Indy
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Sunday promises to be big day in Indy
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
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Consultation: Rex manager Brian Dorsett talks with his pitcher and players during a time-out Sunday, July 15, at Sycamore Field. (Tribune-Star file/Bob Poynter)
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
The Terre Haute Rex went through plenty of trials and tribulations during the summer of 2012.
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
A year ago, quarterback Andrew Luck was unable to attend the Indianapolis Colts’ organized team activity practices due to school commitments at Stanford.
Luck, though, went on to have a stellar year for the Colts despite the lack of summer work with the team. Still, in a sense, he is a rookie during this year’s OTA workouts.
“These are my first OTAs. I missed these last year, so I think it’s great. It’s great to get on the field with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff. Obviously, some of us ran some of this stuff [offense] at Stanford [under new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton]. But to get out there with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff is good,” Luck said Wednesday as the team wrapped up its first week of on-field voluntary practice sessions. - Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
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IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves, of Brazil, stands in his team pit box as he waits for the start of the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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Top guns, again
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