Today marks the 10th anniversary of the arrest of Jerry Sandusky. It started a chain reaction of events that included head coach Joe Paterno being fired and three university administrators being arrested.
The former Penn State football defensive coordinator was convicted eight months later in 2012 in Centre County Court on more than 40 counts of child sexual assault. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison.
Sandusky appealed his case numerous times, each time being denied a retrial.
The reputation, damage and financial cost to the university has racked up over the past decade, and according to records, Penn State now has paid nearly 30 Sandusky accusers close to $130 million, with the total financial cost of the university at well over $300 million.
As trustee as trustee Anthony Lubrano says that includes more than just losses in court. Legal fees alone were, you know, in excess of $100 million. The settlements were considerable. In addition to the fine that we paid the NCAA on top of the revenues that were withheld by the Big Ten .
In the aftermath, the university has put new training and practices in place for staff to recognize and report possible cases of abuse. five years ago, the state announced $1.7 million of penalty money paid by the university would be given to groups helping child victims of sexual assault.
Meanwhile, Sandusky’s attorney say that they continue to work on further appeals also in Centre County court.
