Thursday, July 12, 2012

Sad story: Freeh report details Penn State's Failures to Protect Children from Sandusky

Coaches Sandusky and Paterno in 1999
Former FBI Director Louis Freeh's firm has issued its Report of the Special Investigative Counsel on the conduct of Penn State University officials to reports of sexual misconduct by Jerry Sandusky - the defensive coach at `Linebacker U'.  Now convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse of children, the 30 year Penn State employee's conduct was ignored, denied, or slighted by those in authority at the University.  It is the latest event in the long, slow process of recognition that, like so many Catholic bishops, those in power too often act to protect their institutions rather than those they are sworn to serve.
According to the Times account Freeh concludes that "[t]he most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized." The pattern of neglect and facilitation of Sandusky's predation will have a big effect on Penn State's  liability for emotional distress damages - though issues like allocation of fault, statutes of limitation, punitive damages, and determination of damages remain open.
Freeh's conclusions are blunt:
“One of the most challenging of the tasks confronting the Penn State community is transforming the culture that permitted Sandusky’s behavior, as illustrated throughout this report, and which directly contributed to the failure of Penn State’s most powerful leaders to adequately report and respond to the actions of a serial sexual predator,” Mr. Freeh wrote. “It is up to the entire University community — students, faculty, staff, alumni, the board and the administration — to undertake a thorough and honest review of its culture.”
See timeline of significant events from PennLive.com


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