At 8-0 and ranked fifth nationally, Penn State's football team is positioned for a run at the playoffs. But news breaking this week reminded the PSU community and the nation of the depths to which the program had sunk in 2011, when former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested and ultimately imprisoned on 45 counts of child molestation.
On Thursday, Sports Illustrated relayed a Centre Daily Times report that a new sexual assault allegation has emerged. A university spokesperson and police confirmed that an individual visited Penn State's Lasch Football Building on Tuesday and told authorities that the individual was sexually assaulted by Sandusky between June 2000 and September 2010.
"This incident report is the result of the university's internal and external reporting procedures upon receipt of a new allegation of abuse by Jerry Sandusky," PSU spokesperson Wyatt DuBois told the Centre Daily Times on Wednesday. "An investigation is ongoing and we have no further comment."
As reported by SI, Sandusky in February lost his bid for a new trial in Pennsylvania appeals court. The court ordered a new sentencing after ruling the mandatory minimums were improperly applied. Sandusky is set to be re-sentenced Nov. 8 for his 45-count child molestation conviction. He was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in state prison.
Sandusky's 2011 arrest led to Penn State firing legendary head coach Joe Paterno and pushing out university president Graham Spanier. To date, the university has paid more than $100 million to people who said they were abused by Sandusky.
