Penn State Confirms Settlements With Sandusky Victims

Penn State announced today it has reached settlement with 26 men who claim that they were sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky.

Three additional settlement deals are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.

In all, Penn State has received 32 claims from people who say Sandusky abused them when they were children.

The university rejected six claims after finding they were “without merit.”

The amount paid in the agreements totals $59.7 million, but the terms of the agreements are not being released because of confidentiality agreements. Last summer, the university’s board of trustees approved paying $60 million to pay out the settlements.

No details are given by the university as to the identities of the claimants or how much each was paid individually.

The university retained the law firm Feinberg Rozen LLP to act as third-party facilitators in the settlement talks. 

“We hope this is another step forward in the healing process for those hurt by Mr. Sandusky, and another step forward for Penn State,”  University President Rodney Erickson says. “We cannot undo what has been done, but we can and must do everything possible to learn from this and ensure it never happens again at Penn State.”

The university maintains that the settlement will not be funded by student tuition, taxpayer funds or donations. Penn State believes that  liability insurance policies will cover those payments. According to a news release, “Any expenses not covered by insurance are expected to be funded from interest revenues related to loans made by the University to its self-supporting units.”

Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of child sex abuse. He is currently serving a 30 to 60 year sentence.

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