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The Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal involves allegations made in 2011 against former Pennsylvania State University football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and an alleged cover-up of those incidents by the university.

Sandusky, a longtime defensive coordinator under head coach Joe Paterno, retired in 1999 but retained access to Penn State's athletic facilities. A 2011 grand jury investigation reported that in 2000 a Penn State janitor named James Calhoun witnessed Sandusky in Penn State football's shower facilities performing oral sex on a boy between the ages of 11 and 13. He reported the incident to his immediate supervisor, Jay Witherite, but neither passed it along to school or police officials. The grand jury further reported that in 2002 Mike McQueary, then a graduate assistant, told Paterno that he had seen Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in Penn State football's shower facilities. Paterno then reported the allegations to Penn State athletic director Tim Curley.

In November 2011, Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts of molesting eight young boys over a 15-year period. In addition, Curley and university Senior Vice President Gary Schultz resigned after being charged with failing to report the incident to police and lying to a grand jury regarding what they knew about the incident. Paterno and University President Graham Spanier were not charged, but both received criticism for their handling of the allegations. On November 9, Paterno announced he would retire at the end of the season. However, hours later, the Penn State Board of Trustees forced Spanier to resign and fired Paterno. On November 11, Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary was placed on indefinite, administrative leave by Penn State's newly-appointed President, Rodney Erickson.

Background

Sandusky was an assistant coach under head coach Joe Paterno for the Penn State football team for 31 seasons from 1969 to 1999. He was the team's defensive coordinator for 23 of those seasons. In 1977, Sandusky founded The Second Mile, a charity formed to help troubled young boys, in State College, Pennsylvania. In 1998, he was investigated for sexual abuse of a child by the University Police, State College Police, Centre County District Attorney, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, and a "child protection agency," but no charges were filed. In 1999, Sandusky retired from his position as Penn State's defensive coordinator, but he remained as a coach emeritus with an office in, and access to, Penn State's football facilities.

Grand jury investigation

A grand jury investigation was initiated in the Spring of 2008 after the mother of a boy (identified in court papers as "Victim 1"), then a freshman at Central Mountain High School in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, reported that the boy had been sexually abused by Sandusky. According to court papers, Sandusky had been having a relationship involving "inappropriate touching" with Victim 1 since 2005 or 2006, when the boy was 11 or 12. Sandusky had met the boy through the Second Mile program before retiring from the program in 2010.

In December 2010, assistant coach Mike McQueary appeared before the grand jury looking into the Victim 1 case. McQueary testified that, on March 1, 2002, at 9:30 p.m., he entered the locker room at the Lasch Football Building at Penn State and heard what he believed to be the sounds of sexual activity coming from the shower. He looked in the shower and "saw a naked boy, Victim 2, whose age he estimated to be ten years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky." The next day, McQueary reported the incident to Joe Paterno, who informed Atheletic Director Tim Curley. Ultimately, the only action taken by Curley and Bill Schultz, Senior vice president for finance and business who also oversaw the Penn State police department, was to order Sandusky not to bring any children from Second Mile to the football building — an action that was approved by school president Graham Spanier.

Despite Penn State banning Sandusky from bringing boys onto the main campus in 2002, he was allowed to operate a summer camp under his name from 2002 to 2008 at a satellite campus near Erie where he had daily contact with boys from fourth grade to high school.

The Pennsylvania statewide investigating grand jury identified a total of eight boys singled out for sexual advances or sexual assaults by Sandusky from 1994 through 2009, after six more victims were identified (another one was subpoenaed but was serving in the military out of the country and so could not testify):

• Victim 3 met Sandusky in summer of 2000 through Second Mile. They would shower together and Sandusky was accused of bear hugging him naked both face to face and behind. The boy accompanied Sandusky to Penn State games as well as Holuba Hall
• Victim 4 was an acquaintance of Victim 3 and also from Second Mile. The relationship began in 1996 or 1997 when he was 12 or 13. He would stay with the Sandusky at the Toftrees Golf Resort (where Penn State staff and team stayed prior to home games). He would engage in "soap battles" in the shower where soap was thrown the boy and then evolve into a wrestling match. He was part of Sandusky's family party to the 1998 Outback Bowl and 1999 Alamo Bowl. He testified that Sandusky inserted his penis in his mouth and sometimes ejaculated. Victim 4 was in a video about the team's linebackers and appeared in Sports Illustrated in a report on the linebackers.
• Victim 5 - met Sandusky in 1995 or 1996 when he was 7 or 8 through Second Mile. He attended at least 15 games as Sandusky's guest. At one time in the showers at Penn State he said Sandusky had Victim 5 place his hand on Sandusky's erect penis.
• Victim 6 - was an acquaintance of Victim 5 and met Sandusky through Second Mile when he was 7 or 8. In 1998 when he was 11 Sandusky showered with him in Holluba Hall and bear hugged him from behind. When he came home with his hair wet, his mother reported incident to Penn State police. It was investigated by Detective Ronald Shreffler. Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar chose not to prosecute. Shreffler testified before the Grand Jury that director of the campus police Thomas Harmon told him to drop the case. Shreffler testified that another 11-year-old boy also had a similar instance with Sandusky at about the same time (the Grand Jury attempted to subpoena the other other boy but he was out of the country in the military). State College Police detective Ralph Ralston, with the consent of the mother of Victim 6, eavesdropped on a conversation between the mother and Sandusky which she confronted him on May 13 and 19, 1998 about the shower incident. He said he had showered with other boys and refused her demand that he discontinue doing it. District Attorney Gricar was not available to testify as he had disappeared in 2005. Sandusky retired from Penn State coaching in 1999 at age 55.
• Victim 7 - met Sandusky through the Second Mile program in 1994 when he was 10 and was an acquaintance of Victim 6. He would go to games and be allowed on the field. He said Sandusky touched his thigh in the car and had put his hands in his underpants waistband. He and Sandusky showered together at Holuba Hall in the East Area locker rooms. He said he had been contacted by Sandusky in the days prior to his testimony.
• Victim 8 - In 2000 janitor James Calhoun observed Sandusky giving oral service to a boy in the Lasch Building showers. Physical Plant employee Ronald Petrosky saw the two leave the assistant coaches' shower area and described the boy as between the ages of 11 or 13. Petrosky said they left hand in hand. No police report was made and the identity of the boy is unknown. Calhoun is in a nursing home suffering from dementia and so was deemed not competent to testify.

At least 20 of the incidents allegedly took place while Sandusky was still employed by Penn State.

Criminal charges

On November 4, 2011, Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly indicted Sandusky on 40 counts of sex crimes against young boys, following a three-year investigation. Sandusky was arrested on November 5 and charged with seven counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, as well as eight counts of corruption of minors, eight counts of endangering the welfare of a child, seven counts of indecent assault, and other offenses.

Senior vice president Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley, were found to be not credible by the grand jury. The two administrators were charged with perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse by Sandusky. The indictment accused Curley and Schultz of not only failing to tell the police, but falsely telling the grand jury that Mike McQueary never informed them of sexual activity. Sandusky is currently free on $100,000 bail pending trial. He could face life in prison if convicted of the charges. Curley and Schultz appeared in a Harrisburg courtroom on November 7, where a judge set bail at $75,000 and required them to surrender their passports.

After the charges came to light, Spanier issued a statement in which he said Curley and Schultz had his unconditional support, and saying they "operate at the highest levels of honesty." Spanier was criticized for expressing support for Curley and Schultz, and failing to express any concern for Sandusky's alleged victims.

Media reaction

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was the first to report on the grand jury investigation, in March 2011. The story did not receive much attention otside of the immediate area, and many readers at the time assailed the newspaper for impugning Sandusky's and Penn State's reputation.

While Joe Paterno was not accused of legal wrongdoing by the grand jury, advocates for sexual abuse victims have called for charges to be brought against him for not contacting the police himself. On November 7, Pennsylvania state police Commissioner Frank Noonan said that though some may have fulfilled their legal obligation to report suspected abuse, "somebody has to question about what I would consider the moral requirements for a human being that knows of sexual things that are taking place with a child," and that, "I think you have the moral responsibility, anyone. Not whether you're a football coach or a university president or the guy sweeping the building. I think you have a moral responsibility to call us."

Further, criticism and condemnation of Penn State leadership and Paterno himself, including calls for his dismissal, followed reports of these arrests for their role in "protecting Penn State’s brand instead of a child", and allowing Sandusky to retain emeritus status and unfettered access to the university's football program and facilities despite knowledge of the allegations of sexual abuse. In an interview with New York City radio station WFAN, noted sports reporter Kim Jones, a Penn State alumna, stated that, "I can't believe heart is that black, where he simply never thought about again and never thought about those poor kids who were looking for a male mentor, a strong man in their life." Former sports commentator Keith Olbermann called for Paterno to be immediately fired, saying that "he failed all of the kids—the kid kids and the player kids—he purported to be protecting."

On November 8, 2011, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg published a rare full-page, front-page editorial calling for the immediate resignation of Penn State President Graham Spanier; it also called for this to be Joe Paterno's last season. The same day, an editorial in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called for the resignations of both Joe Paterno and his assistant coach Mike McQueary.

Maureen Dowd, writing a syndicated op-ed, criticized Penn State for allegations that several members of its staff, from the University President down to a graduate assistant, covered up sexual abuse by Sandusky.

On November 10, hours after Paterno and Spanier's ouster, Pittsburgh sports talk host Mark Madden, who had written a column in the Beaver County Times on April 3 suggesting the possibility of a Penn State cover-up, appeared on the Boston sports talk show Dennis and Callahan, making additional allegations about Sandusky which Madden stated were being investigated by two columnists.

Several additional developments occurred on Friday, November 11. Officials in San Antonio, Texas announced that they are investigating whether Sandusky molested one of the victims at the 1999 Alamo Bowl. Penn State officials announced that McQueary was being placed on indefinite paid administrative leave. Penn State's Aa1 revenue-bond rating was "placed on review for possible downgrade" by Moody's Investors Service due to the potential impact of the sex abuse scandal.

Student response

A few Penn State students, angered over Spanier's role in the 2002 incident as well as his statement of support for Curley and Schultz, created a Facebook page, "Fire Graham Spanier", to call on Penn State's Board of Trustees to fire Spanier. An online petition at change.org calling for Spanier's ouster garnered over 1,700 signatures in four days. Following Paterno's ouster, rioting occurred near the Penn State campus in reaction. Approximately 10,000 students and others gathered to support Paterno, with some tipping over a WTAJ news truck. Police used tear gas in response. No major injuries were reported.

Reactions also included the removal of Sandusky's image from a mural near the college, and the renaming of an ice-cream flavor which had been created in his honor.

On November 10, a group of Penn State alumni set up and announced ProudPSUforRAINN, a fundraiser for the anti-sexual violence network RAINN with a goal of $500,000, saying

After having so closely identified with all things Penn State over the past 15 years, the recent events have shaken our beliefs – and those of other alumni – to the core. Simply put, Penn State is way bigger than the alleged actions of a few people. To honor the victims, our goal is to raise over $500,000 – one dollar for each of Penn State’s 557,000 alumni.

As of 2 p.m. the next day, they had raised over $113,000 dollars.

On November 11, students also planned a candlelight vigil on the lawn of Old Main with over 10,000 planning on attending. Former NFL player and Penn State alum, sports broadaster LaVar Arrington spoke at the event which attracted an estimated ten thousand.

Spanier and Paterno ousted

Penn State officially banned Sandusky from campus on November 6, 2011. Later that day, Tim Curley was placed on administrative leave, and Gary Schultz resigned to go back into retirement.

On November 8, 2011, Spanier canceled Paterno's weekly Tuesday news conference, citing legal concerns. It was to have been the coach's first public appearance since Sandusky's arrest. Paterno reported that Spanier canceled the press conference without providing Paterno with an explanation. That same day, The New York Times reported that Penn State was planning Paterno's exit at the close of the college football season. Based on interviews with two individuals briefed on conversations among top university officials, the Times reported: "The Board of Trustees has yet to determine the precise timing of Mr. Paterno’s exit, but it is clear that (he) will not coach another season."

The following day, the Associated Press reported that Paterno had decided to retire at the end of the 2011 football season, saying that he didn't want to be a distraction. In a statement announcing his retirement, Paterno said: "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."

On the afternoon of November 9, The Express-Times of Easton, Pennsylvania, reported that the board had given Spanier an ultimatum—resign before that night's meeting or be fired. At that night's meeting, Spanier, facing almost certain termination, resigned; provost Rodney Erickson was named interim president. At the same meeting, the board turned down Paterno's offer to resign, instead voting to fire him immediately; defensive coordinator Tom Bradley was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.

An attorney retained by the families of some of the boys who were allegedly abused by Sandusky has criticized the decision by the board to fire Paterno, saying "The school let the victims down once, and I think they owed it to the victims to at least gauge how the immediate termination decision would impact them as opposed to Mr. Paterno's resignation at the end of the year."

However, one of the trustees told The Morning Call of Allentown that he and his colleagues had no choice but to fire Paterno in order to contain the growing outrage over the scandal. According to the trustee, the board considered letting Paterno stay on for the rest of the year with Bradley as team spokesman, but ultimately decided it would still keep the focus on Paterno. The board also didn't like that Paterno released statements on his own rather than through the school, with some feeling he may have breached his contract. The anonymous trustee said that he and many of his colleagues felt Paterno either "knew about it (the abuse) and swept it under the rug, or he didn't ask enough questions." As for Spanier, the board was very angered by Spanier's statements of support for Curley and Schultz.

See also

• Graham James, a hockey coach convicted of sexually abusing former players.
• International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)

References

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External links

• Centre County, Penn. Grand Jury Findings of Facts
• Sandusky, Penn State case timeline

• Current events
• 2011 scandals
• Child sexual abuse
• College football controversies
• Penn State Nittany Lions football
• Pennsylvania State University
• 2011 in Pennsylvania
• Crime in Pennsylvania