New York Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
After approximately one year of negotiations, Penn State announced last week that it will pay approximately 60 million dollars to settle the cases of 26 sexual abuse victims of Jerry Sandusky. In June of 2012, the former Penn State assistant football coach was convicted by a Pennsylvania jury of 45 of 48 counts of sexual abuse. The conviction was after a several week long trial with testimony from 8 of Sandusky’s victims, who described in detail the abuse, including fondling, oral sex, anal rape and psychological manipulation.
The 69 year old Sandusky is serving a 30-60 year sentence as a result of his conviction last June. The settlement will apparently be paid from liability insurance policies, not from Pennsylvania taxpayers, donations or tuition funds. It will resolve the cases of 26 victims, leaving another six whose cases are still in negotiation with the victims’ attorneys and a few that the university’s counsel are questioning the legitimacy of.
The Sandusky scandal, which terminated the career of legendary football coach Joe Paterno for failing to report what he allegedly knew of Sandusky’s transgressions, also includes three university officials who are charged with covering up the scandal. They are former Penn State president Graham Spanier, retired vice president Gary Schultz, and retired athletic director Tim Curley, who have each denied the allegations against them. Spanier, Schultz, and Curley each await trial on the charges against them, which has not been scheduled to date. In my opinion, based upon the reported evidence, they have an uphill battle to avoid convictions, as it appears that their main concerns were to determine how best to avoid damaging the reputation of Penn State University and maintaining enrollment, not stopping a sexual predator.
The settlements were negotiated by the law firm of Kenneth Feinberg, who is well known for his role as a mediator distributing funds in the 9/11 “Victim Compensation Fund” and as a special master in the Agent Orange litigation. As expected, each victim will be required to execute a confidentiality agreement, prohibiting them and their attorneys from disclosing the amounts of the settlements and in all likelihood, further commenting on anything to do with Jerry Sandusky or Penn State’s employment of Sandusky.
Penn State is also under investigation for potential violations of the Clery Act. The Clery Act was named after Jeanne Clery, a 19 year old Lehigh University student who was raped and murdered by another student in her residence hall in 1986. The significant discretion afforded to local campus police in determining whether to refer cases to police and prosecutors instead of school authorities has resulted in some tragic cases in universities throughout the U.S., and the implementation of the Clery Act in 1990. Colleges and universities must give prompt warnings of crimes committed on their campuses which could pose a threat to the safety of students and school employees. A violation of the Clery Act can result in fines of up to $27,000 for each violation.
Contact the Westchester County Criminal Defense Attorneys online or toll free at (914) 428-7386 if you are charged with a felony, misdemeanor or traffic infraction for a free initial consultation to discuss your legal rights and options.