The Second Mile agrees to push back dissolution, asset transferring until civil claims against Sandusky are resolved

The Second Mile, the charity founded in the late 1970s by convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky, is agreeing to temporarily push back its plans to dissolve and transfer its assets to a Texas-based charitable organization.

In papers filed with the Centre County Orphans Court Aug. 27, attorneys for The Second Mile said the organization is seeking judicial approval to halt plans to transfer its assets to Houston-based Arrow Child & Family Ministries until all civil claims against the organization and Sandusky are resolved.

Sandusky, a former assistant football coach at Pennsylvania State University, was convicted earlier this summer of 45 out of 48 counts of child sex-abuse following a rather short jury trial in Centre County, Pa., the home of Penn State.

The Second Mile, which was founded by Sandusky in 1977, is said to be the place where the former defensive coordinator met and groomed many of his young victims.

The Second Mile, Sandusky and Penn State have since been named as defendants in civil complaints filed by victims.

The Aug. 27 filing states that the petition for the distribution of assets that had been filed on May 25 should be stayed pending final resolution of all pending and future civil claims asserted by victims of Sandusky sex-abuse.

The stipulation regarding the stay of proceedings was signed by Second Mile attorneys Howard A. Rosenthal and Gary D. Fry, as well as attorneys with the Philadelphia firm of Kline & Specter, who are representing various sex-abuse victims.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office is also a signatory to the stipulation.

The stipulation states that if The Second Mile wishes to proceed with dissolution and asset transferring while the stay is in effect, the organization will have to provide a 30-day notice to counsel for all known victims and prosecutors.

The filing goes on to state that the stipulation does not settle or resolve any legal claims for damages that any victim may have against The Second Mile or other entity involved in the litigation.

Sandusky was convicted of sexually molesting 10 boys over a 15-year time period.

He likely faces the rest of his natural life in prison.

The Second Mile stipulation comes exactly two months after attorneys for Sandusky victims filed legal papers seeking to have the charity prevented from immediately transferring its assets to the Texas organization in the wake of civil suits being filed on the grounds that it could be on the hook for legal costs arising out of the sex-abuse scandal.