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Jerry Sandusky Child Sex Scandal and Freeh Report: Top Officials Had No Regard for Children

As we reported earlier this month, Penn State University’s top officials failed to protect the children, LA Times Says, who were sexually abused by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, according to an investigation of the scandal that has roiled the school since last fall.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh was hired by the university to investigate how the school handled the Sandusky abuse reports made on school grounds. In a letter along with the release of the report Thursday morning,Freech had very harsh words for the university’s top officials for failing to act on reports about Sandusky.

“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. The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized,” Freeh stated. The officials “never demonstrated, through actions or words, any concern for the safety and well-being of Sandusky’s victims until after Sandusky’s arrest.”

Reports say the university’s President Graham Spanier, football Coach Paterno, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz “repeatedly concealed critical facts.”

All four men were forced out of their jobs when the scandal came to the surface last fall.

The Freeh report states:

“The evidence shows that these four men also knew about a 1998 criminal investigation of Sandusky relating to suspected sexual misconduct with a young boy in a Penn State football locker room shower.”

“Again, they showed no concern about that victim. The evidence shows that Mr. Paterno was made aware of the 1998 investigation of Sandusky, followed it closely, but failed to take any action, even though Sandusky had been a key member of his coaching staff for almost 30 years, and had an office just steps away from Mr. Paterno’s. At the very least, Mr. Paterno could have alerted the entire football staff, in order to prevent Sandusky from bringing another child”  to the campus, Freeh said.

“After Mr. Curley consulted with Mr. Paterno, however, they changed the plan and decided not to make a report to the authorities. Their failure to protect the February 9, 2001 child victim, or make attempts to identify him, created a dangerous situation for other unknown, unsuspecting young boys who were lured to the Penn State campus and football games by Sandusky and victimized repeatedly by him. Further, they exposed this child to additional harm by alerting Sandusky, who was the only one who knew the child’s identity,” Freeh said.

It’s a shame, folks! Top officials at a prestigious private university like Penn State acted in such ill disregard for anyone who attended the school, need to all be punished to the harshest degree. And we are waiting to see it happen!

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