Penn State fallout: Longtime CEO of Sandusky’s charity resigns
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The fallout from the Penn State child sex-abuse scandal continues to unfold, with the Second Mile -- the children’s charity founded by alleged molester Jerry Sandusky -- announcing Monday morning that its chief executive had resigned.
The board of directors said in a statement that it had accepted the resignation of Jack Raykovitz, chief executive of the Second Mile for the last 28 years, citing ‘the best interests of the organization.’ The statement also sought to put distance between the organization’s work and its founder: ‘Although the allegations against Jerry Sandusky and the alleged incidents occurred outside Second Mile programs and events, this does not change the fact that the alleged sexual abuse involved Second Mile program children, nor does it lessen the terrible impact of sexual abuse on its victims.’
The charity said that it’s launching an internal investigation of its procedures and policies and that it aims to have those findings by year’s end.
Sandusky, a former Penn State defensive coordinator for the football team, was charged with 40 criminal counts that he sexually assaulted eight boys from 1994 to 2009. He says he is not guilty.
Meanwhile, Penn State is facing public outrage amid suspicions that it did not do more to protect children and that it tried to cover up the crime. So far, the scandal has led to the firing or sidelining of at least five school officials, including the dismissal of legendary football coach Joe Paterno and the school’s president.
Now, at least some of those involved appear to be lawyering up -- or at least seeking legal advice.
One alleged victim has hired an attorney to explore a civil lawsuit against all involved, ABC News reports, with more victims expected to take legal action as well. Paterno has hired a high-profile criminal attorney who includes former president George H.W. Bush among his clients, ABC News also reports. And the Second Mile said in today’s statement that it has engaged new general counsel to take over for an attorney who resigned amid the uproar.
As media scrutiny intensifies, pension details for Sandusky and fired school Vice President Gary Schultz were reported by the Patriot-News, which has been fighting a long-running battle to make Penn State salaries and benefits available to the public.
When he retired, Sandusky received a one-time payment of $148,271 and now gets $58,898 annually, the paper said; Schultz received a $421,847 lump-sum payment when he retired in 2009 and will get $27,558 in a monthly pension. (Schultz had since returned to school employment on an interim basis.) The paper said it continues to seek pension information for Paterno and others.
Developments in the scandal show no signs of slowing down.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, appearing Sunday on ‘Meet the Press,’ said he believes that more allegations of abuse by Sandusky will be forthcoming. He also called for a new law that would require mandatory government reporting of alleged sexual abuse.
Media scrutiny is also extending to the judge who raised eyebrows when she granted Sandusky’s release on $100,000 unsecured bail, despite prosecutors’ request for $500,000 in bail. As it turns out, she’s a volunteer for Sandusky’s charity, according to her online legal profile.
Further, interim football coach Tom Bradley is trying to regroup after the team’s very painful -- and very public -- loss to Nebraska, raising questions about whether the vaunted program can recover from this scandal.
Meanwhile, Sandusky supporters are now starting to emerge.
Diann Bishop of Manchester, Penn., said in a letter to the editor of the local paper that she knows Sandusky and that her daughters benefited from the work at the Second Mile. She criticized the public’s rush to judgment and predicted that Sandusky will be found not guilty: ‘Knowing Jerry Sandusky, I find it very hard to believe that he ever hurt any child that was in his company. Please stop judging him and let our justice system work. I think that when all is out and said and done Jerry will be found innocent of all of this.’
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-- Rene Lynch
twitter/renelynch
