Former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was informed that assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was molesting children as early as 1976, according to a report from PennLive.com.
The report found, in a court order involving a related insurance case, a line that read: “in 1976, a child allegedly reported to PSU’s head coach Joseph Paterno that he (the child) was sexually molested by Sandusky.”
PennLive.com’s report also notes the court order mentioned that, in 1987 and 1988, assistant coaches witnessed inappropriate conduct by Sandusky with children and that a 1988 case had supposedly been referred to the then-athletic director of Penn State.
Still, the judge on the case, Gary Glazer, found that there is no evidence “reports of these incidents ever went further up the chain of command at PSU.” Because the judge deemed the university’s executive officers were unaware of the claims of sexual abuse, the claims from that period wouldn’t be barred from insurance coverage.
The insurance case is continuing, and the victims’ depositions are still under seal.
Sandusky is currently in prison, serving 30-60 years after being found guilty on 45 counts of sexual abuse. He was convicted in June 2012, five months after Paterno’s death. In 2013, Sandusky’s request for a new trial was denied by a judge.
