FLASH: Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison in child sex abuse case. Watch Reuters.com for more.
Penn State leaders including late head football coach Joe Paterno concealed former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s child sexual abuse for years, showing a “total disregard” for his victims, former FBI director Louis Freeh said in a report on Thursday.
Pennsylvania State University trustees hired Freeh and his law firm to investigate the school’s handling of the allegations involving Sandusky, 68, who was convicted last month of sexually abusing 10 boys.
“Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State,” Freeh said in a statement on the findings of an eight-month investigation.
Freeh also criticized the board that hired him, saying it failed to hold senior leaders accountable.
READ ON: Ex-FBI chief blasts Penn State in Sandusky child sex abuse
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky leaves the Centre County Courthouse in handcuffs after his conviction in his child sex abuse trial in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, June 22, 2012. REUTERS/Pat Little
A jury found former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 out of 48 counts in his child sex abuse trial on Friday.
Sandusky was seen escorted out of the courthouse in handcuffs. He could be sentenced to hundreds of years in prison.
The decision came after about 21 hours of deliberation over two days by a jury of seven women and five men. Nine of the 16 jurors and alternates had ties to Pennsylvania State University, and the final days of the trial drew large crowds to the Centre County Courthouse.
A large crowd gathered outside the Centre County Courthouse in central Pennsylvania to learn news of the decision. A cheer went up outside as the news was released.
The white-haired former coach faced 48 counts of sexual abuse of 10 boys over a 15-year period, sometimes at Penn State facilities.
A judge denied a motion on Monday to delay the start of the child sex-abuse trial of former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, according to court papers.
As a result of the ruling from Judge John Cleland, of the Court of Common Pleas for Centre County, Pennsylvania, Sandusky’s trial will get underway on June 5. Cleland’s decision was issued in a one-page ruling posted to the court’s website Monday morning.
Sandusky’s lawyer had sought a delay to allow more time to review evidence in the case.
READ MORE: Judge says no trial delay for ex-Penn State assistant coach
