Paterno and Others Hid Facts, Inquiry Says

Posted on Jul 12, 2012

AP/Paul Vathis

Jerry Sandusky, left, and Joe Paterno in August 1999.

An investigation into the Penn State sexual abuse scandal determined that head football coach Joe Paterno and other senior officials knew for as long as 15 years that assistant coach Jerry Sandusky may have had sexual relationships with young boys.

Paterno died in January. Eager to protect his name and legacy, his family issued a statement on Tuesday saying that Paterno had admitted to failing to stop Sandusky’s actions. They also accused investigators of improperly disclosing their findings.

—Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly. Follow him on Twitter: @areedkelly.

The New York Times:

“Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims,” said Louis J. Freeh, the former federal judge and director of the F.B.I. who oversaw the investigation. “The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.”

Freeh’s investigation—which took seven months and involved more than 400 interviews and the review of more than 3.5 million documents—accuses Paterno, the university’s former president and others of deliberately hiding facts about Sandusky’s sexually predatory behavior over the years.

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