In light of renewed criticism of former FBI director Louis Freeh’s investigation of Penn State’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case, Penn State Board of Trustees member Alvin Clemens would like his colleagues to re-examine his findings.
In a statement released to the Associated Press Monday, Clemens said the Paterno-commissioned Freeh Report critique issued by experts, including former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, has prompted “a number of extremely serious and troubling questions.”
“To dismiss [the Paterno Report] out of hand, as Mr. Freeh did immediately after it was released, would be a grave error,” the statement read.
On Sunday, Freeh called the Paterno rebuttal “self-serving” and said that it did not change the conclusions of findings in his original report.
Calling the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse case“one of the most important child sex abuse cases in history,” Clemens is asking the university to arrive at “the real truth of what happened in this matter.” He further designated this as “a sacred obligation to the victims, the community and everyone who cares about preventing future child sexual abuse cases.”
On the board since 1995, Clemens said the board commissioned Freeh’s firm to conduct “an independent, full and complete investigation of the Sandusky scandal.” Nevertheless, he said, “there is little question that the Freeh Report is less than complete,” adding that there are “questions about accuracy and fairness.”
Clemens also said this matter is further complicated because the board never voted “to accept the report or the NCAA Consent Decree.”
After issuing the statement, the trustee said his original statement is “very self-explanatory.”
“I think that tells a story,” he said. “There’s especially issues on both sides, just like my statement said.”
Clemens said he will stand by his statement and does not expect he will issue any follow-up comments in the future.
University spokesman David La Torre said the university does not have a comment.
“We are aware of a statement, but we have not been provided a copy by Trustee Clemens,” he said via email.
Trustee Joel Myers deferred comment until a later time. Other trustees could not be reached for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
