Sandusky accuser testified he told Joe Paterno of abuse in 1976
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According to a newly unsealed court testimony, former Penn State coach Joe Paterno knew of child sex abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky as early as 1976.
The 1976 allegation was first revealed in a brief court filing in an insurance case in May. Tuesday’s release of the testimony revealed more details of the alleged assault.
In 2014, a man testified that he was assaulted by Sandusky in the shower at a Penn State football camp when he was 14. The accuser asserted that Sandusky’s finger penetrated his anus. He also testified that he told several camp staffers about the incident, who “expressed concern but that was it.”
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He testified that when he approached Paterno, the coach brushed off the allegation and walked away.
“Is it accurate that Coach Paterno quickly said to you, ‘I don’t want to hear about any of that kind of stuff, I have a football season to worry about’?,” the man’s lawyer asked him in 2014.
“Specifically. Yes … I was shocked, disappointed, offended. I was insulted… I said, is that all you’re going to do? You’re not going to do anything else?”
Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of molestation and sentenced to 30–60 years in prison. Paterno died of cancer in 2012.
Last week, more than 200 former Penn State players sent a letter to the school asking for Paterno’s statue to be returned to its former place outside Beaver Stadium.
