The report by former FBI director Louis Freeh on the Penn State sex scandal, which the university paid $6.5 million for, needs some context, says Sara Ganim of the Harrisburg Patriot-News. If former Penn State officials, including head football coach Joe Paterno, knew details of the 1998 police report on coach Jerry Sandusky, the terms of Sandusky's retirement a year later are outrageous. The university bent over backward to get Sandusky emeritus status, even though he didn't have the academic qualifications. That included an office on campus and keys to a shower where he would abuse more boys until he was arrested.
The prosecutor on the 1998 case that never led to charges against Sandusky, Karen Arnold, refused to talk to the Freeh group, even though she testified to a grand jury. Why?, asks the Patriot-News. If abuse of power by top administrators was so bad, asks the newspaper, were there any other cover-ups? Were other investigations compromised? Were there other violations — academic, athletic, or otherwise — found by Freeh? The report focuses solely on the Sandusky case, but former vice president Vicky Triponey talked about Paterno wanting to handle problems internally. When Freeh was asked if his team went back before 1998, he said yes, but he didn't say if anything was found. He said players and coaches witnessed Sandusky showering with boys prior to 1998, but nothing criminal was noted before that year.