VICTIM....Sobs
in the courtroom in this courtroom sketch as the verdict is read during the
child sex abuse trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry
Sandusky in Bellefonte, PA June 22, 2012.
BELLEFONTE (Pennsylvania) :
With former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky now behind bars for child sexual
abuse, the university has given an unusual signal that it wants to wrap up
civil suits as fast as possible, legal observers said on Saturday.
Shortly after Sandusky, 68,
was convicted late on Friday on 45 counts of sexual abuse, Pennsylvania State
University invited victims to try to resolve claims against the school.
"The purpose of the
program is simple - the university wants to provide a forum where the
university can privately, expeditiously and fairly address the victims'
concerns and compensate them for claims relating to the university," it
said in a statement.
Sandusky's conviction clears
a hurdle for potentially big-ticket civil suits since abuse victims suing the
school now can point to a crime that was committed, the observers said.
At least two civil suits
have been filed already against the school, both in Philadelphia. A filing by
Sandusky's lawyers last month put the number of potential victims at almost 20.
"The biggest problem
for Penn State is that they want to get these cases closed. They want them
behind them and they are going to want to spend some money to make that
happen," said Daniel Filler, a law professor at Drexel University.
Max Kennerly, a Philadelphia
lawyer who has handled sex abuse cases, said the university's statement was
unusual.
The move is a sign Penn
State is willing to stay away from the "usual pattern of deny, delay,
defend - the 'three Ds' of corporate insurance defence," he said.
Penn State's potential
damage from civil suits could become clearer with a criminal case against the
school's former athletic director, Tim Curley, and Gary Schultz, the former
vice president for finance and business.
A former assistant coach,
Mike McQueary, testified he told late head coach Joe Paterno, Curley and
Schultz about a 2001 incident in which Sandusky abused a boy in a Penn State
locker room.
Curley and Schultz face
charges of perjury and failure to report suspected abuse in an alleged coverup
of the incident.
"Schultz and Curley
will tell us a lot more about what Penn State knew" about Sandusky's
paedophilia, Kennerly said.
Fat
target
Penn State had US$4.6
billion in operating revenue reported for the last fiscal year and an endowment
topping US$1.8 billion.
The university is involved
in a legal battle with its main liability insurer, Pennsylvania Manufacturers'
Association Insurance Co, over who should have to pay for any civil suits in
the Sandusky scandal. It also owns its own insurer, Nittany Insurance Co of
Vermont.
"The real money is in
the big institution, Penn State, and insurance companies. The individuals (in
the criminal suits) are just conduits to the insurance companies," said
Filler.
Paedophilia suits against
Roman Catholic priests have generated damages ranging from US$50,000 to several
million dollars per victim and are a potential guideline for payouts in the
Penn State case, Kennerly said.
"It could be US$1
million for each of them," he said.
Because of the Sandusky
scandal, Penn State is facing investigations by the FBI, the U.S. Department of
Education, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, a grand jury and the
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The school had spent US$7.6
million as of the end of February because of the scandal, Penn State said on
its website. (Reuters)
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