The following is from an Associated Press dispatch as provided by our statewide news service:
By MARK SCOLFORO
Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP, Dec. 1) — Penn State won’t release information that could shed light on the child sex abuse case involving a former assistant football coach because the state open records law gives the school special status. That may soon change, as lawmakers question those protections while the university denies requests for records showing what key figures knew about the allegations before Jerry Sandusky was charged last month with molesting children.
The school has long had a reputation for guarding its secrets closely and zealously, and when the state attorney general announced the charges against Sandusky, she said their investigation — by a grand jury with subpoena power — had been hampered by an uncooperative atmosphere among unnamed school officials.
Penn State has cited its exemption from the law in the past month in denying requests by The Associated Press for documents related to a 1998 investigation into Sandusky that began when a woman complained he had showered with her son; a copy of his severance agreement; and emails among top administrators about Sandusky.
And I believe it’s been reported that Spanier AGGRESSIVELY lobbied to exempt PSU from the PA’s new open records law enacted in 2009. Was this done because they knew about the issues with Sandusky?