Louis Freeh Report: Investigation Reveals Troubling Details About Penn State

Several high-ranking Penn State authority figures failed to take the necessary steps to protect the victims of Jerry Sandusky, according to a report released today by a Louis Freeh-led group. That includes, but is not limited to, former head football coach Joe Paterno.

Among the other officials named in the report were former university president Graham Spanier, vice president of finance and business Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley. Schultz and Curley are still awaiting trial on charges of perjury and failing to report abuse.

The 267-page report draws to the conclusion that, based on the findings of more than 430 interviews and 3.5 million documents, not enough was done by those in charge to stop Sandusky. That includes deciding against getting the authorities involved.

"Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State," Freeh said in a report introduction.

It's also reported that all four officials had knowledge of the 1998 investigation into Sandusky's conduct toward young boys, but did nothing to change the pattern of behavior, instead allowing things to continue like business as usual.

Freeh argues that Paterno, who passed away in January, should have made the entire staff aware of the situation to avoid Sandusky from bringing children onto the campus. Instead, no action was taken by Paterno or other people with knowledge of the situation.

It draws to the conclusion that fear of bad publicity was a driving force behind the decision to hide Sandusky's actions. It also states that facts were concealed from the public during the system-wide failure leading to the scandal that erupted last fall.

Penn State immediately released a statement that says the university is looking into the findings of the report to determine what changes must be made to ensure another incident doesn't occur in the future. They have a response planned for Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

The NCAA also released a brief statement, which states it will review the report independently and will then await a response from Penn State about compliance, control and ethics concerns. Once that is given, the NCAA will decide which steps to take next.

Sandusky was found guilty on 45 counts of sex abuse last month and awaits sentencing.