Sandusky Sex Abuse Report: Investigation Into Penn State University’s Role In Child Molestation Case To Be Published Thursday, 14 moms sue LA schools in child abuse case

Sandusky Sex Abuse Report: Investigation Into Penn State University’s Role In Child Molestation Case To Be Published Thursday
Reuters   By Ian Simpson 07/10/2012

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) – An investigation into Penn State University’s role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal will be published on Thursday, and the family of late football coach Joe Paterno has questioned its fairness and confidentiality.

The head of the eight-month probe, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, said on Tuesday its report would be published online at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) on Thursday. He will hold a news briefing at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania State University’s trustees hired Freeh and his law firm to investigate the school’s handling of explosive allegations involving Sandusky, a former assistant coach in the high-powered football program, and university officials.

Sandusky, 68, was convicted last month of 45 counts of child molestation involving 10 boys. Some of the sexual abuse took place at Penn State football facilities.

The charges involving Sandusky prompted the firing in November of university President Graham Spanier and head coach Paterno, who won more games than any other major college football coach. Paterno died of lung cancer in January at age 85.

At the heart of the Freeh probe is how Paterno and other Penn State officials reacted to allegations by Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant. McQueary told them in 2001 he had seen Sandusky in a sexual position with a boy in a football locker room, but neither police nor children’s services were informed.

Former Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, a former university vice president, face charges of perjury and failure to report suspected abuse stemming from the alleged cover-up. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/11/sandusky-sex-abuse-report-penn-state_n_1663691.html

14 moms sue LA schools in child abuse case By Jonathan Lloyd, NBCLosAngeles.com 7/11/12

Attorneys representing 14 mothers of students at Miramonte Elementary School announced Tuesday the filing of a lawsuit that alleges the school district did not protect their children from a teacher accused of lewd acts involving children.

The lawsuit claims the Los Angeles Unified School District was negligent in the case of former teacher Mark Berndt, charged with lewd acts involving at least 20 children at the school.

Berndt was arrested in January.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning, claims the children were sexually abused by Berndt between 2002 and 2011, and that the LAUSD “was negligent and did not protect their children from sexual abuses; and that the Los Angeles Unified School District completely ignored previous complaints,” according to a statement from attorney Luis A. Carrillo.

The charges against Berndt involve 23 children who were 7 to 10 years old. His arrest stemmed from an investigation that began after a film processor — mandated by state law to report child abuse — provided photos to sheriff’s deputies….

Deputies recovered more than 100 similar photos at Berndt’s home, according to investigators. The film processor later discovered more photos….

Berndt pleaded not guilty.

His arrest was followed by another Miramonte Elementary teacher and the dismissal of the entire school staff. Martin Bernard Springer is charged with three felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14. http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/11/12684038-14-moms-sue-la-schools-in-child-abuse-case

Penn State signals it wants to settle Sandusky cases – University may have to pay millions to victims of sexual abuse by former coach, Analysis: Number of victims persuaded Sandusky jurors in ‘he said, he said’ case

Penn State signals it wants to settle Sandusky cases – University may have to pay millions to victims of sexual abuse by former coach
By Ian Simpson  6/24/2012

BELLEFONTE, Pennsylvania  — With former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky  now behind bars for child sexual abuse, the university has given an unusual signal that it wants to wrap up civil suits as fast as possible, legal observers said on Saturday.

Shortly after Sandusky, 68, was convicted late on Friday on 45 counts of sexual abuse, Pennsylvania State University invited victims to try to resolve claims against the school.
“The purpose of the program is simple – the university wants to provide a forum where the university can privately, expeditiously and fairly address the victims’ concerns and compensate them for claims relating to the university,” it said in a statement.

Sandusky’s conviction clears a hurdle for potentially big-ticket civil suits since abuse victims suing the school now can point to a crime that was committed, the observers said.
At least two civil suits have been filed already against the school, both in Philadelphia. A filing by Sandusky’s lawyers last month put the number of potential victims at almost 20….
A former assistant coach, Mike McQueary, testified he told late head coach Joe Paterno, Curley and Schultz about a 2001 incident in which Sandusky abused a boy in a Penn State locker room.

Curley and Schultz face charges of perjury and failure to report suspected abuse in an alleged cover-up of the incident. “Schultz and Curley will tell us a lot more about what Penn State knew”  about Sandusky’s pedophilia, Kennerly said. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47935946/vp/47934464#47934464

Analysis: Number of victims persuaded Sandusky jurors in ‘he said, he said’ case
By Wes Oliver, Special to msnbc.com  ANALYSIS  6/23/12

Friday night was not a good night for the Penn State community but you couldn’t tell it from the atmosphere outside the courtroom.  Jerry Sandusky was convicted of the overwhelming majority of the child sex abuse counts of against him. The verdict revealed that the jury believed the account of every of major witness the prosecution presented. There were only three verdicts of ‘not guilty’ in the 48 counts Sandusky faced….

The eight witnesses demonstrated a range of credibility. Ultimately the jury concluded that all of the victims were credible but carefully examined their testimony to see if it established the crimes alleged. It is entirely possible that no single victim could have prevailed in the he-said, he-said conflict in this case. But the victims reinforced one another. The odds that they were all lying were too remote for the jury to conclude anything other than they were all telling the truth.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/23/12370562-analysis-number-of-victims-persuaded-sandusky-jurors-in-he-said-he-said-case