Is Penn State Liable for the Harm Done to Child Sex Abuse Victims?

Penn State - Nittany Lion shrine

Penn State's acting President Rodney Erickson has declared his regret to the eight or more victims of the alleged child sex abuse and the leadership's determination to restore the University's honor in the wake of the unfolding sex abuse scandal at its legendary football program. But it will be a long time before 108,000 fans at the stadium can again repeat with full-throated confidence the trademark call and response - WE ARE...PENN STATE".

 The tragedy at Penn State has garnered great attention - particularly the university's apparent failure to act effectively to protect young children from Jerry Sandusky - a retired coach alleged to have sexually abused eight boys, some of which acts occurred at the University's football training facility.    As I commented the day the Grand Jury's presentment was released it moved me personally because Joe Paterno has been an icon for me and other graduates of my (late, great) Jesuit high school Brooklyn Prep of whose alumni Paterno was among the most illustrious.

 Maxwell Kennerly of the Beasley law firm has prepared a good preliminary discussion of the tort liability issues: Can Sandusky's Childhood Sexual Abuse Victims Sue Penn State? Molestation Lawsuit Information

 NPR has prepared a Guide to principals and timeline


 Those whose acts are most likely to give rise to liability are McQueary and others on the coaching staff, the Athletic Department Director, and the university Vice President for Business. The latter two have been indicted for failure to report the alleged sexual assault to the campus or the state police and for perjury before the grand jury.


Among the issues are those of the credibility of an accuser - Michael McQueary (did he detail to university officials - including Paterno and V.P. Schultz that he actually saw the rape of a 10 year old boy by Sandusky or was his report ambiguous? Did McQueary meet his legal obligation but not his moral obligation, as Gov. Tom Corbett asserted on Meet the press today? That question is equally apt for head coach Joe Paterno.

A major obstacle to university liability may be sovereign immunity. Is the Pennsylvania State University a state agency? The Commonwealth Court has held in Doughty v. City of Philadelphia and Temple University that Temple - a Commonwealth University - is not a state agency. Penn State - a land-grant university - may have the benefit of sovereign immunity as do the colleges in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. In McNichols v. Dept. of Transportation (2002) the immunity doctrine was affirmed by the Commonwealth Court.
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