State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Luzerne, and State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, have announced that they both believe a more thorough investigation into the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case and related matters needs to be conducted.
On Sunday, the family of the late head coach Joe Paterno released the findings of its own private investigation into the Freeh Report, conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh.
The Paterno family-commissioned investigators posed some possible flaws in Freeh’s report, Yodichak said.
Yudichak and Conklin both said they support Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s investigation into how the Sandusky child sex abuse case was handled and are open to an investigation by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, a body that has subpoena power that Freeh’s group did not.
Both legislators believe that in order for those abused by Sandusky and the Penn State community to get the full story of what went on during the Sandusky case, an investigation into the key players needs to happen, so everyone can gain closure.
“Without the full truth we cannot help the victims recover,” Yudichak said. “We need a full understanding of how the crimes went undetected and due process needs to be served.”
Without fully questioning the findings of the Freeh Report, the Penn State Board of Trustees did a great disservice to both the people who Sandusky was convicted of abusing and the Penn State community, Yudichak said.
Yudichak, who read both the Freeh and Paterno reports, said he believes that the Freeh Report had very broad conclusions that he believes the Board of Trustees should have identified.
Yudichak and Conklin both said they are frustrated with how quickly the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s levied sanctions on the Penn State football program after the release of the Freeh Report.
State Sen. Jake Corman , R-Centre, also said he was frustrated with the speed at which the NCAA imposed its sanctions.
“The NCAA levied punishment on Penn State without knowing all of the facts,” Corman said.
“The Penn State community and the victims will continue to look for answers of what took place until there is a full review,” Conklin’s Chief of Staff Tor Michaels said.
