Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky
The Penn State sex-abuse saga continued to unravel in 2012, with more victims, resignations and sordid details after more than a year of investigations. In October, Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant football coach who was charged with sexually assaulting at least 10 underage boys, was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison. In July, former FBI director Louis Freeh released an in-depth report on the scandal and concluded that top administrators not only knew about Sandusky’s indiscretions but also attempted to conceal them, thereby putting the welfare of many children at risk. Shortly after the report was released, the NCAA imposed severe penalties on the football program, including a $60 million fine, a four-year postseason ban and a void on all victories from 1998 to 2011. Meanwhile, three top-ranking officials who were forced to resign — ex-president Graham Spanier, former athletic director Tim Curley and retired vice president Gary Schultz — now face charges including perjury, obstruction, conspiracy, endangering the welfare of children and failing to report suspected abuse (their trials are set for January 2013). As if it couldn’t get any worse, civil lawsuits against Sandusky and Penn State are slowing rolling in. While the horrors of the far-reaching scandal may be over, its repercussions will be felt for a long time.