Criminal charges swirl within storied Penn State University football program
Aside from the weekly reporting on football game results and player statistics, most of the time when news breaks about the sports program at a major university like Penn State, it has to do with the latest violation of NCAA rules regarding do’s and don’ts for college athletes. That is unfortunately not the case for Penn State University right now. Charges have been filed against Jerry Sandusky, 67, a former defensive coordinator for Penn State’s football program who retired from his coaching position in 1999. The charges include 40 counts of sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year period that spanned time both while he was coaching and afterward. In 1977, Mr. Sandusky founded a charity called The Second Mile, which had the goal of helping at risk and endangered children. Charges claim that Mr. Sandusky used the trust and relationships with children through the Second Mile to carry out the crimes. The charges were filed against Mr. Sandusky on November 5 after a two-year investigation by a grand jury into allegations of abuse by Mr. Sandusky. Mr. Sandusky was at times allowed to use university facilities, where some of the alleged incidents took place. A graduate assistant witnessed one such incident in 2002 in the football team’s locker room shower and reported what he saw to Mr. Paterno. Although Mr. Paterno reported the incident to his superiors within the university, none of the Penn State officials informed or otherwise involved law enforcement. Stemming from the admission by Mr. Paterno that he had second-hand knowledge of at least one incident, also at question is how much other administrators within the Penn State University system knew about the alleged actions of Mr. Sandusky and when they knew it, which could amount to a cover up of the actions. These administrators include Tim Curry, Athletic Director; Gary Schultz, Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Business; and Graham Spanier, President. Mr. Curry and Mr. Schultz have already left their positions at Penn State and charges have been filed against them for lying to the grand jury during the investigation leading up to the charging of Mr. Sandusky. Mr. Paterno, who is in his last year of a three-year coaching contract, is expected to lose his job within weeks if not days. Mr. Paterno has been the head coach for Penn State’s football program for 46 seasons. Although Mr. Paterno may not have violated the law in failing to report what he knew to legal authorities and has been assured by the District Attorney that he will not be subject to charges, since he did not witness any incidents first hand, there is question as to whether Mr. Paterno did the right thing morally to best help the children involved. At present, law enforcement has identified the identifies of six of the eight victims. The investigation is ongoing. If you are being investigated for or have been charged with any crime, you should seek help from legal counsel right away. A criminal defense attorney will have the training and experience to help you with whatever legal issue you are dealing with. If you complete the short form at http://www.criminaldefensehome.com/eval_bar.php, an attorney will review your case free of charge. This review is completely confidential and does not obligate you to anything further. Therefore, please complete the form today to get professional help with whatever legal matter you are facing.
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