Sandusky Accuser Given Alcohol, Lawyer Says
A new accuser has come forward claiming former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abused him.
A 19-year-old man alleges that Sandusky gave him whiskey and assaulted him in the university's football building in 2004 when he was 12 years old. He is the first victim to claim that alcohol was involved in the abuse.
The man's lawyer, Charles Schmidt of Harrisburg, Pa. told the AP that his client met Sandusky through the charity he founded in 1977, The Second Mile, and that he gave the boy whiskey while in an office.
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The victim alleges that Sandusky began talking to him about his troubled family life, as he was dealing with the death of his mother and suffering from emotional issues at the time, and then attacked him.
Schmidt said that his law firm is looking into the victim's claims on its own, but that he believes they are credible.
"Everything that we've been able to unearth since has corroborated what he told us, but we'll continue to do our due diligence," he said.
The scandal has rocked Penn State University since it broke in early November, costing many administrators their jobs after it was discovered that there had been earlier allegations of abuse, but no action was taken against Sandusky to stop it.
Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Gary Schultz resigned shortly after learning they would face perjury charges for lying to a grand jury and not involving police after various witnesses brought it to their attention that Sandusky was abusing boys.
Paterno, who had planned to retire at the end of the football season, was fired even though he fulfilled a legal obligation to tell his superiors about the allegations after they had been brought to his attention by then graduate assistant Mike McQueary.
McQueary, now a receivers coach, told Paterno he witnessed Sandusky raping a young boy in the school showers. He has been placed on an indefinite paid administrative leave.
