Whether Mark Emmert‘s sanctions against the Penn State football program were fair or not, NCAA involvement was ultimately going to be the least of the university’s worries when it came to the fallout of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Case in point, the man identified as “Victim 1" in Sandusky’s grand jury indictment is filing a lawsuit against the school for its “deliberate and shameful” handling of the allegations against the former defensive coordinator, according to the Associated Press. The suit was filed Friday.
Victim 1, per the indictment, met Sandusky through his charity, Second Mile, in 2005 or ’06 and later became a victim of Sandusky’s abuse. The suit claims Victim 1 was assaulted more than 100 times by Sandusky over a three-year period ending in 2008. As a result, the victim claims he suffered physical and emotional injuries and will likely need medical and psychological help. He is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages.
It was Victim 1’s 2009 allegations that led to the investigation that would end up in Sandusky’s arrest last November. Sandusky would ultimately be convicted on 45 counts of child-sex abuse in June, six of which were related to Victim 1. He’ll spend the rest of his life in prison.
Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and former VP Gary Schultz are also facing perjury charges. The Freeh report, released in July, indicates PSU officials knowingly refused to act multiple times on allegations against Sandusky. However, Penn State has remained mostly mum on the situation (except for the Emmert sanctions).
“The university takes these cases very seriously,” university spokesman Dave La Torre said, adding PSU’s president and board “have publicly emphasized that their goal is to find solutions that rest on the principle of justice for the victims.”
Victim 2 was reportedly set to file suit against the school last month. There will undoubtedly be others who follow.
PSU president Rodney Erickson said previously he feels the school is “adequately covered” to handle litigation thrown its way.