Court documents: Paterno ignored claims of Sandusky’s abuse in 1976

“I think whenever someone thinks of Penn State football, they are always going to think about that”, Chappell said. The accuser said he was laying in only his underwear on a couch in a locked coaches area when Sandusky was rubbing his back and that O’Dea allegedly entered the room.

Ohio State assistant coach Greg Schiano has been linked to the Jerry Sandusky sexual assault scandal at Penn State. “I have a football season to worry about”.

Convicted in 2012, Sandusky is now serving a 30-to-60-year sentence of 45 counts of sexual abuse on young boys. Newly released court documents provided new details Tuesday, July 12, 2016, on allegations that Penn State Coach Joe Paterno was told in 1976 about a sex abuse accusation against his assistant, Jerry Sandusky, and that some of Paterno’s assistants witnessed improper contact between Sandusky and children in the 1980s. That incident McQueary testified to is the one most tied to any beginning of public knowledge and allegation of Sandusky’s abusive behavior toward children.

The documents show that complaints of Sandusky’s penchant for sexual assault had been reported to Penn State athlete officials for 22 years until someone informed authorities for the first time in 1998.

The former Penn State assistant, who went on to become a head coach with Rutgers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reportedly saw Sandusky “doing something to a boy in a shower”. According to McQueary in his newly released deposition, he also discussed what he had seen with Bradley, a Penn State assistant from 1979 to 2011. Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano is one; UCLA defensive coordinator Tom Bradley is another.

The thing I can not get over is that there is no logical reason for Mike McQueary to have lied in his deposition.

Schiano was a Nittany Lions’ graduate assistant in 1990 and its defensive backs coach from 1991 to 1995. Both Bradley and Schiano say that never happened. “Speculation serves to drive a wedge within the Penn State community”.

In the deposition of John Doe 75, it is stated that in 1987 assistant football coach Joe Sarra walked in on Sandusky with his hands down the shorts of the boy, who was then 13 years old. Sarra died four years ago.

Many in the Penn State football family would view that as an extreme act of betrayal and McQueary would be ostracized – simply for telling his story.

Lawyer Eric Anderson says the $92 million in total payouts to settle 32 claims might have been fueled by the school’s “concern about publicity” and a wish to resolve matters quickly.

But lawyer Ken Feinberg, who helped mediate claims against the university, said Penn State was diligent in making sure the claims were supported by sufficient proof.

Bradley also released a statement that he knew nothing of the abuse.

“Although settlements have been reached, it also is important to reiterate that the alleged knowledge of former Penn State employees is not proven, and should not be treated as such”, Barron said.

The other news outlets involved in the suit include the Harrisburg Patriot-News, the Associated Press, and the Centre Daily Times.