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PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

New sexual abuse charges filed against Jerry Sandusky in civil suit

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Another alleged victim of sexual abuse carried about by former Penn State defensive

coordinator Jerry Sandusky has filed a civil suit in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas against the now-convicted felon, as well as the Second Mile foundation that he created and the university.

The allegations come from a victim who was not part of the original 10 witnesses who testified before the grand jury investigation that eventually led to Sandusky's arrest and sentence of 30 years in state prison.

The 18-year-old plaintiff, identified only as D.F. because he was a minor at the time of the alleged abuse, seeks $50,000 in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages, for each of the five counts leveled against the defendants.

The bulk of the charges takes the charitable organization and the school officials to task for failing to fully investigate accusations that had been made years before the plaintiff met Sandusky in 2004. One of the counts accuses all three defendants of conspiring to endanger the welfare of a minor.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff met Sandusky while attending the Second Mile foster home when he was eight years old and had regular contact with him through 2010. In 2008 or 2009, the suit says as an example, Sandusky took the boy out for a shopping spree.

On the way, Sandusky allegedly pulled the car over and forced the plaintiff to perform oral sex. Afterwards, they continued to the store where Sandusky bought the victim items including sneakers, pants and shirts.

Another alleged encounter happened on Aug. 30, 2008, when Sandusky took the plaintiff to the Penn State home game against Coastal Carolina University, providing the victim with "excellent seats," the complaint says. In the third quarter, Sandusky left the stadium with the plaintiff and drove back to his residence, where he allegedly forcibly sodomized the victim and threatened him if the plaintiff told anybody.

The complaint goes into detail the information that had been uncovered about Sandusky's past behavior on Penn State grounds in an attempt to show how the school and non-profit did not do enough to stop Sandusky.

In 1998, Sandusky admitted during an investigation that he showered naked with children at Penn State, the complaint says. He retired in 1999, but kept a emeritus status at the school that allowed him unfettered access to the grounds and facilities.

A janitor witnessed Sandusky performing oral sex on a boy in 2000 and reported it to his supervisor, but he was discouraged from bringing the matter to anybody higher up the chain, the suit says.

Two years later, former assistant coach Mike McQueary caught Sandusky raping a 10-year-old boy in the showers and reported to head coach Joe Paterno, who notified athletic director Tim Curley. A meeting was called by Curley, who allegedly assured McQueary that the situation would be appropriately filed.

However, the law enforcement officials were never contacted and a full investigation into the allegations was never conducted. Instead, Sandusky's access to the football team's locker room became limited.

The suit says that the organizations had plenty of opportunities to get more involved, but failed to protect the welfare of the plaintiff. The organizations' conduct of concealing Sandusky's illegal actions was an implicit ratification of the former coach's behavior, according to the complaint.

The plaintiff is represented by Bret Southard of Casale & Bonner.

The case ID number is 140803085.

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