Freeh Report Blames Joe Paterno, Penn State for Sandusky Cover-up

Joe Paterno and other high ranking Penn State officials failed to take action against Jerry Sandusky because they didn't want the negative publicity against the school, according to an internal investigation led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh.

On multiple occasions, Paterno and school officials were made aware that Jerry Sandusky may have been sexually assaulting young boys, the Freeh report found. Yet Penn State officials failed to take steps to alert authorities or prevent Sandusky from bringing children onto campus, reports Yahoo! Sports.

And so Sandusky remained free and abused more boys, and was still allowed nearly full access to Penn State facilities. The Freeh report focused on two incidents in which Paterno and school officials failed to take action.

First, in 1998, Joe Paterno and school administrators knew that prosecutors were conducting a criminal investigation into Sandusky's alleged abuse of a boy in the Penn State showers, the Freeh report says. The report condemns Paterno and officials for not taking additional precautions after prosecutors decided not to press charges. The report says that no one even spoke to Sandusky about the incident. In addition, staffers were not warned to be on the lookout for Sandusky and young boys.

In the second incident, then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary told Paterno and other officials that he walked in on Sandusky abusing another boy in the showers. Again, instead of raising red flags, Paterno and administrators chose not to report Sandusky to authorities. In fact, it's alleged that administrators were prepared to call child protective services, but did not based on an intervening discussion with Joe Paterno.

The Penn State Freeh report appears damning to the university and venerated late coach Joe Paterno. The report could be used as evidence in the criminal trial of the officials and in any civil action that may be taken against Penn State.

Related Resources:

• Report: PSU hid 'critical facts' (ESPN)
• Freeh Report on PSU Sandusky Cover-Up: Grounds for Civil Action? (FindLaw's Philadelphia Personal Injury Law Blog)
• Jerry Sandusky Insisting He's Innocent, Complaining About Jail (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty)
• Can Jerry Sandusky Appeal Because of Joe Amendola's Antics? (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty)