Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and other university leaders hid critical facts "in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity," according to a report former FBI director Louis Freeh. NBC's Michael Isikoff reports.
By Wesley Oliver, NBC News Legal AnalystInvestigative Reporter, msnbc.com
The Freeh Report is a scathing indictment, to speak colloquially, of?officials at Penn State. But it could also preview actual indictments against Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, and Gary Schultz, key Penn State officials at the time Jerry Sandusky's sex abuse of minors was first being reported. And if?Joe Paterno was still alive, his?name could easily be added to that list.
The?report describes many of the facts those following the case already knew, but the facts were described in a way that very clearly maps onto the elements of crimes.
The report finds that senior officials at Penn State had no concern about the welfare of?at least one?victim of Sandusky's crimes and allowed?Sandusky continued?access to the campus, where he was able to continue to perpetrate his crimes.
Paterno, Curly, Schultz, and Spanier were aware of?an investigation about improper conduct?with Sandusky in a?shower with a young boy in 1998. Then, when they learned from Michael McQueary that another incident occurred --?and this time much more graphic details were provided -- they?only asked Sandusky not to bring his "guests" into Penn State showers.
Report: Penn State president, Paterno concealed facts about sex abuse
Most substantially, the report observes, not only did Penn State?officials not attempt to learn this young man's name?to see if he had been harmed, they actually placed?him in danger by informing Sandusky that McQueary had seen them in the shower together. In effect, university officials tipped off Sandusky to?a potential child witness against him.?Sandusky could have threatened the boy -- or?worse -- to?ensure his silence. Or Sandusky could have?merely taken out his rage at being discovered on this young man he?saw as the reason for the discovery.
By not?reporting Sandusky's activities and allowing him on the campus after these incidents, university officials essentially assisted Sandusky in his crimes. As?the report poignantly states, university officials gave him access to the university and the trappings of a top college football?program. The officials thus "provided Sandusky with the very currency that enabled him to attract his victims."
As prosecutors decide their next move, the Freeh?Report offers a description of facts tailor-made for an indictment?for endangering the welfare of a minor. It provides perhaps even more.
Typically, to?conspire to commit a crime or to aid and abet a crime, you have to desire that the crime occur. No one argues that Penn State officials wanted Sandusky to rape boys. Courts, however, are beginning to recognize that?for very serious crimes, if you take an action?that?you know assists the completion of that crime, you may well be legally responsible as a conspirator, aider or abettor.?
If prosecutors?elect to?use the?trend in modern conspiracy and complicity law to bring indictments in this case,?the perjury and failure to report charges against Curly and Schultz will seem like minor offenses in hindsight.? And the Freeh Report gives prosecutors the ammunition to do just that. ?
The author of this piece is an NBC News legal analyst and professor at Duquesne Law School.
The full investigative report by Louis Freeh is available in this PDF file.
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