Phila. attorneys acknowledge representing Sandusky victim in pending civil action

Two Philadelphia attorneys have acknowledged representing one of the central figures in

the Penn State University sex scandal in a pending civil action against the school and convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky.

Joel Feller and Matt Casey, lawyers with the Philadelphia firm Ross Feller Casey LLP, said in a July 26 statement posted to the firm’s website that they are representing “Victim 2,” the young man who was raped by Sandusky in a university shower back in 2001, an incident witnessed by former assistant football coach Mike McQueary.

The statement, which does not identify the victim by name, says the attorneys will be working alongside State College, Pa.-based lawyers Justine Andronici and Andrew Shubin to represent Victim 2 in his legal action against Sandusky, the former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator, and Pennsylvania State University.

“Our client suffered extensive sexual abuse over many years both before and after the 2001 incident Michael McQueary witnessed in the Penn State Lasch building shower,” the statement reads. “Penn State has now admitted and there is no longer any question that its top officials could have and should have prevented these acts.

“Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of Victim 2 and other children is a direct result of a conspiracy to conceal Sandusky’s conduct and the decisions by top Penn State officials that facilitated and enabled his access to victims,” the statement continues. “We intend to file a civil lawsuit against Penn State University and others and to hold them accountable for the egregious and reckless conduct that facilitated the horrific abuse our client suffered.”

The attorneys go on to say that Victim 2 will not only be dealing with the effects of the sexual abuse for the rest of his life, but also the “knowledge that many powerful adults, including those at the highest levels of Penn State, put their own interests and the interests of a child predator above their legal obligations to protect him.”

The lawyers also said that their own “extensive investigation” has uncovered various evidence relating to the abuse, including voicemails left by Sandusky in the fall of 2011 as his indictment was imminent.

Two of the voicemails were posted to Ross Feller Casey’s website. One is from Sept. 12, 2011, and the other from Sept. 19 of last year.

In both, Sandusky is heard sending off with “I love you” to the victim, and expressing his desire to talk to the victim as soon as possible.

In the second voicemail, Sandusky asks the man whether he would be interested in accompanying the former coach to an upcoming Penn State football game.