College Sports

Report Questions When Joe Paterno Learned About Sex Abuse Allegations

CNN obtained a police report that alleges Joe Paterno heard accusations against Jerry Sandusky earlier than previously thought.

Report Questions When Joe Paterno Learned About Sex Abuse Allegations
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Article by Grant Suneson
SMS
September 9, 2017

A new allegation has surfaced in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. It claims coach Joe Paterno knew about accusations against Jerry Sandusky earlier than previously thought.

CNN obtained a police report with a statement from former assistant coach Mike McQueary. He told police that in 2001 when he told Paterno he witnessed Sandusky abusing a child in the Penn State locker room, Paterno said he had heard a similar complaint once before.

That contradicts Paterno's 2011 testimony. He told a grand jury he first heard allegations of Sandusky abusing children from McQueary. 

Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts related to sexual abuse of children and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. He's currently appealing the conviction.

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Paterno died in 2012, and there's been a lot of discussion about his legacy ever since. Many Penn State fans still support him and were upset after his statue was removed from campus.

Paterno's family sued the NCAA in 2013 over its investigation into how Paterno and other administrators handled abuse allegations. The probe found Paterno did the bare minimum by telling school administrators and not the police about the allegations. The family dropped the suit this past June.

Three former Penn State administrators received jail time for their roles in the Sandusky case, but there's no evidence Paterno ever committed a crime in his role.