Are The Federal Laws Intended To Protect Children?

November 17th, 2011
06:00 AM ET




Video: Alleged Penn State victim's mother talks

State College, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- The senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee asked Thursday that the chairman call a hearing to determine whether federal laws intended to protect children and students should be changed.

"Potential weaknesses in specific laws designed to keep children safe have come to light in the wake of the alleged sexual crimes committed on the campuses of the Pennsylvania State University and the Citadel," wrote Rep. George Miller, D-California in his letter to Chairman John Kline, R-Minnesota. "Our inquiry should not seek to parallel, replicate, or interfere with those efforts; rather, we must examine the ongoing operation of the underlying federal laws to identify any vulnerabilities and better ensure against future risks to children."

Miller cited two federal laws: The Clery Act requires higher educational institutions to collect information about and report on crimes that occur on campus. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act requires states to develop laws mandating that child abuse be reported.

In a statement, Education and the Workforce Committee communications director Alexandra Sollberger said, "The committee is monitoring the situation at Penn State carefully and will assess the need for congressional action after the Department of Education concludes its investigation into the matter."

One state has already moved to tighten reporting requirements. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday issued an executive order requiring "all public or vocational school, community college, college or university professors, administrators, coaches and other school employees to report child abuse or neglect within 24 hours of observing an incident of child abuse or neglect." The report must be made to child welfare authorities and police.

The calls come in the wake of two scandals at high-profile schools.

In The Citadel case, a former cadet-turned-camp counselor faces a series of charges, including three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor and three counts of lewd act on a minor, according to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, police. The school's president said this week that the university is "profoundly sorry" for not reporting allegations against the counselor in 2007.

In the Penn State case, Pennsylvania's attorney general has charged a former Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky, with 40 counts in what authorities allege was the sexual abuse of eight boys. In addition, two Penn State officials are charged with failing to inform police of the allegations, and questions have been raised about the university's response.

The report led to the firing last week of head football coach Joe Paterno and Penn State President Graham Spanier. Assistant coach Mike McQueary -- who, according to the grand jury report, witnessed Sandusky raping a child in 2002 -- has been placed on administrative leave.

Gary Schultz, the university's then-senior vice president for finance and business, and former Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley are charged with lying to the grand jury and failing to alert police to the allegations regarding Sandusky.

Curley requested and was granted administrative leave, while Schultz -- who oversaw Penn State campus police -- has retired.

The report says Sandusky molested young boys after developing relationships with them through The Second Mile, a charity he founded for at-risk youths.

Sandusky told NBC's Bob Costas on Monday that he has been falsely accused, saying that he only "horsed around" with kids in the shower after workouts.

Sandusky denied being sexually attracted to boys, and his lawyer, Joe Amendola, told CNN Monday night that showering with children does not equate automatically to sexual assault.

In the NBC interview, Sandusky denied one of the charges in the grand jury report, i.e., that McQueary had walked in on him in the school's locker room raping a boy about 10 years of age.

Sandusky was arrested on November 5 after the release of the grand jury report detailing crimes that he allegedly committed between 1994 and 2009. He is free on $100,000 bail.

Authorities have said they are checking into more than a dozen calls from people who have said they were victimized by Sandusky.

Several other alleged victims are considering coming forward after seeing Sandusky's Monday interview, two State College attorneys told the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Patriot-News.

"I spent about half the day in kitchens and living rooms, speaking with victims of Sandusky's molestation and processing with them the effects of Jerry Sandusky being on television and Jerry Sandusky denying wrongdoing," attorney Andy Shubin told the newspaper. "And what I found was that these folks are being re-traumatized."

He said many of the alleged victims weren't sure whether they would contact police, as some cases may be too old to prosecute. One case dates back to the 1970s, the newspaper reported.

Attorney Ben Andreozzi, who represents one of Sandusky's alleged victims, said in a statement issued after Sandusky's television interview that his client "fully intends to testify that he was severely sexually assaulted by Mr. Sandusky."

The lawyer said more information would be forthcoming.

Washington civil rights law firm Katz, Marshall and Banks issued a statement Thursday saying it is working with Shubin and Seth Kreimer, a law professor, to formulate a civil case against Penn State.

During an investigation into the allegations, authorities found that Second Mile records, including travel and expense reports, were missing from about 2000 to about 2003, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing two sources with knowledge of the case. The records were supposed to be stored at an off-site facility, it said.

Records from one of the years were later found after having been apparently misfiled, the Times said.

"It could be that they were just lost, but under the circumstances it is suspicious," one law enforcement official told the newspaper.

The alleged rape witnessed by McQueary, who was then a graduate assistant, was detailed in the grand jury report.

According to the report, McQueary told Paterno; Paterno then alerted his boss, Curley.

The grand jury report also indicates that McQueary talked to Schultz and that Schultz never presented the information to university police.

Preliminary hearings for Curley and Schultz were set for December 6 in Dauphin County Magistrate Court.

CNN's Mary Snow, Jason Carroll and Sarah Hoye contributed from State College. CNN's Ashley Hayes reported from Atlanta.