First Lawsuit Filed In Sandusky-Penn State Child Sex Abuse Case
By Mark Abrams and Jim Osman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abused a young boy more than 100 times after meeting him through the charity he founded, then threatened the boy's family to keep him quiet about the encounters, according to a lawsuit filed today.
The lawsuit claims that Sandusky abused the boy at the coach's State College home, at Penn State facilities, and on at least one bowl game trip.
The victim, identified only as "John Doe A," claims the abuse began when he was 10 years old, back in 1992, while he was part of the Second Mile program that Sandusky ran through Penn State. He claims the abuse continued until 1996, when he was 14.
One of the incidents, identified in the suit, is alleged to have taken place in Philadelphia, and the victim's attorney alleges it was here, when the boy tried to resist, that Sandusky threatened him and told the boy that harm could come to his family.
The plaintiff is not among eight victims named in a grand jury report released earlier this month that detailed a series of alleged assaults involving Sandusky and boys as young as ten. Sandusky has acknowledged showering and embracing young boys but denies molesting them (see related story).
Attorney Jeff Anderson, who has filed several clergy abuse lawsuits on behalf of victims, says this suit names Sandusky, Penn State, and Second Mile.
Anderson (right) says he wants "light to be brought, and the truth to be known and revealed about the institutional recklessness, and the concealment of criminal wrongdoing for a long time and some lessons really hard-learned."
And Anderson says the victim, who only contacted him recently, is now 29 and began talking to law enforcement on Tuesday, giving them detailed information about the abuse.
Anderson says he believes that criminal charges are likely to be filed as a result of the allegations from his client.
He says this victim and other victims are outraged that Sandusky isn't already behind bars as a result of his conduct.
Sandusky is charged with abusing eight boys, some on campus, over 15 years, allegations that were not immediately brought to the attention of authorities even though high-level people at Penn State apparently knew about at least one of them (see related story).
The scandal has resulted in the departures of school president Graham Spanier and longtime coach Joe Paterno (see related stories). Athletic director Tim Curley has been placed on administrative leave, and vice president Gary Schultz, who was in charge of the university's police department, has stepped down.
Schultz and Curley are charged with lying to the grand jury and failure to report to police, and Sandusky is charged with child sex abuse. All maintain their innocence
Reported by Mark Abrams, KYW Newsradio 1060
