After Five-Year Investigation, Penn State Receives Record Fine for Handling of Sandusky Case

Penn State has been fined $2.4 million by the U.S. Department of Education.

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After a five-year federal investigation into Penn State, the school is being hit with a record fine of $2.4 million. That’s the penalty the U.S. Department of Education has imposed for the school’s failures in handling complaints about Jerry Sandusky, according to ESPN.

Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach, was charged with child molestation in 2011, and found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of child sexual abuse in 2012.

Penn State received the fine for violating a federal law requiring that colleges “report campus crimes and warn people if their safety is threatened,” ESPN reports. According to the Department of Education, which issued the largest fine ever under the law, Penn State ignored many of its Clery Act obligations.

Sandusky, 72, was an assistant at Penn State from 1969-99 under head coach Joe Paterno. Sandusky’s request for a new trial in 2013 was declined. He is currently serving what amounts to a life sentence—30 to 60 years—in prison.

Paterno’s statue at Penn State was taken down in 2012. Recent reports indicate Paterno may have had knowledge of the accusations against Sandusky since 1976.

While how much Paterno knew is a point of debate, few people would debate that Penn State made many institutional failures in its handling of the Sandusky allegations. This is the latest in a line of just punishments the school has received.

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