Unsealed court records claim Joe Paterno knew of Jerry Sandusky allegations in 1976
More claims are coming to light that former Penn State coach Joe Paterno knew about allegations that Jerry Sandusky sexually abused boys on the Penn State campus.
Court documents from 2014 unsealed Tuesday, show that a victim, called John Doe 150 said Sandusky inappropriately touched him when he was 14 years old in 1976, The Washington Post reported.
The man, who is now an adult, was attending a football camp at Penn State University when he said Sandusky touched him as he took a shower.
The victim said he spoke to Paterno about what happened and told him that Sandusky had sexually assaulted him. Doe said Paterno ignored it, court records showed.
>>Related: Over 200 Penn State football players demand return of Paterno statue
"Is it accurate that Coach Paterno quickly said to you, 'I don't want to hear about any of that kind of stuff, I have a football season to worry about'?" the attorney asked the victim during a 2014 hearing, The Washington Post reported.
The man replied: "Specifically. Yes ... I was shocked, disappointed, offended. I was insulted ... I said, 'Is that all you're going to do? You're not going to do anything else?'"
Doe 150 said that Paterno then walked away.
The court records contain allegations from multiple victims who said they were assaulted over the 22 years before someone reported abuse concerns to law enforcement in 1998, The Washington Post reported.
The latest documents are being released because of a lawsuit between Penn State and its insurance company. The existence of the testimony was made public in May, but the details weren't released until Tuesday.
Penn State is trying to get reimbursed by the insurance company for the $93 million that it paid out in settlements to Sandusky's victims, The Washington Post reported.
Other allegations include, according to the Washington Post:
- John Doe 75 testified that Sandusky had his hand down the boy's shorts in 1987 and it was witnessed by another assistant coach who did nothing.
- John Doe 101 testified that Sandusky's questionable behavior around young boys who were not his children was well-known in the university's football program. John Doe 101 said a weight room assistant saw him lying on a couch in his underwear in 1988 and Sandusky seated on the floor nearby, rubbing the boy's back.
The family of Paterno, who died in 2012, fired back on Twitter, saying that the claims are only claims and there is no documentation supporting the allegations.
The family denied in a statement to the Post that there had been a cover-up.
Sandusky was convicted in 2012 and was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison, The Washington Post reported. He was found guilty on 45 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys.
