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Freeh Report Concludes Joe Paterno, Penn State Officials Had ‘Total Disregard’ for Jerry Sandusky’s Victims

The Freeh Report was released on Thursday morning, and as expected, it was pretty ugly for some of the once-powerful members of the Penn State community.

The results of the internal private investigation into the university’s involvement surrounding the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case lay heavy blame on former head football coach Joe Paterno and others for not doing enough to stop Sandusky.

In addition to Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley, former president Graham Spanier and vice president Gary Schultz were all mentioned together in the report for their roles. The report concluded that they did not do nearly enough to bring Sandusky to justice and put a stop to the crimes that were committed by Sandusky, some of which took place on campus.

The report also states that the four men of power — Paterno, Curley, Spanier and Schultz — all knew about a 1998 criminal investigation looking at an incident of sexual misconduct in one of the Penn State locker room showers.

“The evidence shows,” the report writes, “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”

The release regarding the report can be read here. 

Here are some of the highlights from the release’s findings.

“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.”

“Taking into account the available witness statements and evidence, it is more reasonable to conclude that, in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity, the most powerful leaders at Penn State University –- Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley -– repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse from the authorities, the Board of Trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large. Although concern to treat the child abuser humanely was expressly stated, no such sentiments were ever expressed by them for Sandusky’s victims”

“The release of our report today marks the beginning of a process for Penn State, and not the end. It is critical that Old Main, the Board and the Penn State community never forget these failures and commit themselves to strengthening an open, compliant and victim sensitive environment –- where everyone has the duty to ‘blow the whistle’ on anyone who breaks this trust, no matter how powerful or prominent they may appear to be.”

Read the entire release about the report here>>