Feds investigate if Penn State officials violated US law

msnbc.com ^ | Nov.9, 2011 | Michael Isikoff

[Free ThinkerNY]

Federal officials will investigate whether Penn State officials violated federal law by failing to report alleged sexual abuse by the school's former football defense coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Justin Hamilton, a spokesman for Education Secretary Arne Duncan, confirmed to NBC News that the department was launching a probe into whether there were possible violations of a federal law called the Clery Act. It requires colleges and universities to publish and distribute information about criminal offenses -- including sex offenses -- that are reported to school authorities. Penn State officials were formally notified of the investigation in a letter received Wednesday, officials said.

"If these allegations of sexual abuse are true then this is a horrible tragedy for those young boys," Duncan said in a statement. "If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse. Schools and school officials have a legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from violence and abuse."

[mware]

The grand jury reported the ages of the boys.One as young as 10 years old (that is the one who was raped in the shower, another case was when a janitor walked into a room where a young child was giving Sandusky a BJ.

[mware]

I got to victim four before I got so sick I turned off my computer for the rest of the night.

[italianquaker]

The talk is about Paterno retiring when it should be why he isnt being arrested

[SirLurkedalot]

LOL

[free me]

I was so angry 2 nights ago after reading half of it I had to to the same.

Sickening.

[PGR88]

Is Kevin Jennings going to be appointed as the Safe Locker Room Czar?

I got blasted on a lib-newspaper blog for pointing out this was homosexual rape. Everyone was fuming about the child "molester" but no one could bring themselves to mention the "H" word. The cognitive dissonance was amazing.

[SECURE AMERICA]

The boys were not from the team The ages ranged from 10-15.

[WestSylvanian]

Consider this as an example of Paterno’s chutzpah. He announces today that he will retire at the end of the football season. HE announces when he will leave Penn State. The trustees are meeting even as we speak to decide what will happen to Paterno, Spanier, and other officials. Paterno pre-empts them with his announcement. The trustees decide whether or not Paterno continues until the end of the season or is kicked out tomorrow. Paterno apparently thinks only he can decide when he leaves. Who’s boss here? He should be fired immediately. He’s a disgrace. He also has a monumental ego. If I were a trustee at Penn State, I’d kick his sorry ass out the door tonight. Tell him to clean out his desk and locker and get out.

[truthguy]

Feds have to get involved in everything.

Yes, this seem to me to be the responsibility of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and not the Feds. And I wouldn't be surprised if Gloria Allred tries to get involved in some way. I'm sure the phone hasn't stopped ringing for all the lawyers trying to get involved. Thank God that like Virginia Tech, Penn State is a entity of the state of Pennsylvania just like Va Tech is in the commonwealth of Virginia. A state can limit liability. This will keep the doors open at Penn State after the legal stuff is settled. Maybe that's why the Feds are trying to get involved. Hey lawyers, help me out on this one. I'm not sure about this not being an attorney.

[TheOldLady]

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[truthguy]

He also has a monumental ego.

Yes, he has received very special treatment for a long time. Most coaches are forced to retire in their mid to late sixties. Paterno is 84. I've never heard of anyone being allowed to stay anywhere near that long. They kept him so that he could get the distinction of having the most football wins of any NCAA coach. I bet Paterno wishes he had retired in his late sixties now. Had he retired at say 70 or so, none of this probably would have happened.

[truthguy]

Paterno apparently thinks only he can decide when he leaves. Who’s boss here? He should be fired immediately. He’s a disgrace. He also has a monumental ego. If I were a trustee at Penn State, I’d kick his sorry ass out the door tonight.

I just thought of something else. Contrast Paterno with another(and greater) coaching legend, John Wooden. Wooden retired in 1975 at the age of 65 (can it be that long ago?). He stepped down at the right time. Wooden probably could have coached as long as he wanted or as long as his health would have permitted, but he stepped down at the right time. Paterno wanted to keep coaching way pass the time when it was time to go. I'll guarantee you that he has not been doing the major amount of coaching and that his assistants have been doing just about everything for a long time. This might have been why something like this happened. Does anybody thing this would have happened if Paterno was 55? I doubt it.

[Ernie Kaputnik]

It’s worse than that.

Penn State’s football team is worshipped like a religion. Their fans are hardcore and rabid (as are most college sports fans). PSU football fans practically “live and die” based upon the team’s success or failure every week.

[RedwM]

I’ll bet some of the local cops and even state cops knew about Sandusky’s sexual preferences, but he was considered untouchable. Jerry was probably a running joke in some circles. This story isn’t over yet.