Both sides bolstered by Sandusky report

The report released Monday by Attorney General Kathleen Kane into the three-year investigation of pedophile Jerry Sandusky did little to change the opinions of a Pennsylvania State University community still deeply divided over the scandal.

Those who believe mistakes were made in the investigation, including a slowing of the process by Gov. Corbett when he was attorney general, continue to believe so - and see evidence in her report to prove it.

And those who think Corbett and investigators did right by taking the time to build a strong case and that the process was devoid of political motive say the report only buttresses their views.

Both of those positions are evident on the university's 32-member board of trustees.

"This report was geared toward an evaluation as to whether or not (Corbett) had acted improperly. The answer to that is clearly a resounding no," said Keith Eckel, a Penn State board member since 2001 and Lackawanna County farmer. "I would personally note that I never doubted the governor's actions in this effort because I've always had a high level of respect for his independence when it came to enforcing the law."

Fellow trustee Anthony Lubrano, who was elected in the aftermath of the Sandusky case and who had been highly critical of the board's actions in its wake, also said his opinion of Corbett — who as governor has a seat on the board of trustees — is unchanged, though quite different from Eckel's.

"The report validates the concerns those of us following this have had, that the investigation appears to have taken longer than was necessary though the attorney general didn't uncover a smoking gun as to the reason," said Lubrano, a Glenmoore (Chester County) businessman. "If you read the report carefully, you have to conclude that the delays, particularly those in 2010 were suspect."

The Attorney General's office got the case in March 2009 and Sandusky was indicted in November 2011.

"I'd be naive to believe that politics didn't play a role," he said. The report, he continued, "only furthers the divide between the governor and the Penn State community."

Former federal prosecutor H. Gerald Moulton, who conducted the Kane investigation, said he found no evidence that Corbett slowed the process for political gain, specifically election to the governor's mansion. It also found no evidence that he micromanaged the investigation. Moulton's investigation didn't extend to the conduct of former top Penn State administrators — Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz and Timothy Curley — who are facing charges of collaborating to cover up Sandusky's crimes. He did, however, note that investigators were stymied by PSU's resistance to comply with requests for information or subpoenas.

Maribeth Roman Schmidt, a spokeswoman for Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship, a group critical of Penn State trustees' management in the aftermath of the Sandusky case and supportive of coach Joe Paterno, continues to blame Corbett, calling the report "validation" of his misdeeds.

"Corbett took too long to get Sandusky off the street. Period. It's a real shame that in the course of bringing this information forward, that people like Joe Paterno, who did legally what he should have done, have been unfairly and unjustly blamed and vilified," said Schmidt, a Gwynedd Valley resident, in a statement. "This wasn't a Penn State failure. It was a State of Pennsylvania failure."

Thomas Kline, an attorney who represented the young man known as Victim 5 in court proceedings, expects the report will fuel national debate on the appropriateness of delaying an arrest of an alleged predator who has been a known abuser for decades. Similarly, an earlier Penn State-commissioned report by Louis Freeh that blasted the university's handling of the Sandusky allegations stirred nationwide conversation on colleges' reporting and handling of sex abuse.

"Just as the Freeh report served as a template for national discussion on what universities need to do in the face of reporting potential predatory activity, so this report creates, certainly statewide - likely national - debate on the urgency and process by which suspected predators should be charged and prosecuted in the face of a history of known predatory acts," he said.

"This report calls into question the process which allowed Sandusky to remain a free man, in the face of not only recent accusers but a long history which led him to being a public threat. Those questions are legitimate and significant and are the appropriate fodder for public debate."

But Eckel said if investigators had moved more quickly, they may not have been as successful. Because of their efforts, he pointed out, Sandusky was convicted and is serving a minimum of 30 years in prison for sexually assaulting young boys on and off Penn State's campus.

Asked for his views on the delays in the investigation cited in Kane's report, he said: "Here at the farm, there are things I'd like to get done quicker. But either a breakdown in the equipment or the weather stops me from doing that."

Whether the report will come up next month when the Penn State board holds its regularly scheduled meeting at the Schuylkill County campus is uncertain.

But no doubt effects of the Sandusky scandal will continue to hang over the board as it welcomes three new alumni-elected board members — a major financial figure, a former state senator, and a professor — who were endorsed by Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship. The meeting also will be the first at the helm for new president Eric J. Barron.

At least one rub still remaining: When to honor Paterno's contributions to the university? Lubrano and some other board members have been urging the university to give Paterno his due. But the board leadership and a majority of members, including Eckel, have said it's not time.

"I know there will be a time. I just don't know what will be the right time," Eckel said. "It's very difficult to determine ... when national public opinion will balance all the great things he did against the possible negative connotation as he was leaving. I have the greatest respect for him in the sense that he said he wished he did more. That sticks in my mind."