According to recent stories reported by the Associated Press, there were 8 young men who testified before the grand jury and have claimed that the former football coach sexually assaulted them over a course of 15 years, beginning in the 1990’s. Just minors at the time of the asserted offenses, some as young as 10 or 11, various of the injured parties testified that they had been a guest at Sandusky home at some point and that Sandusky provided them with a number of gifts including tennis shoes and game tickets. And at least one has alleged that Sandusky gave him $50 to purchase marijuana on one occasion. Perhaps even more disturbing are the findings in the grand jury’s report which indicate Penn State officials, Tim Curley, athletic director, and Gary Schultz, vice president of finance and business, were made aware of the allegations as early as 2002, but failed to report the allegations against Sandusky to law enforcement officers or the child welfare agencies. As a result of the grand jury’s findings, Curley and Schultz are now facing multiple criminal charges including perjury and for failing to report a suspected case of child abuse or neglect.
Apparently Sandusky came into contact with most of the minor boys through The Second Mile program which he established in 1977. Initially, the program was started as a foster home to help economic and socially disadvantage boys. Damaging evidence against Sandusky includes the testimony of a graduate assistant who testified that he eye witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy as young as 10 or 11 in 2002 on the premises of Penn State. The graduate assistant said he first spoke with his father, and subsequently reported the incident to former head coach Joseph Paterno. Paterno, the legendary coach who has the most winning record in Division I collegiate football, claimed he reported the incident to higher officials. However, no one ever called the police or the child welfare officials. Paterno, along with the university’s president, Graham Spanier were fired on November 9, 2011, also for their failure to report the accusations against Sandusky.
Although Sandusky is currently facing criminal charges, this is one of, if not the most, heinous scandals involving collegiate football and it is likely that civil lawsuits will be filed in the future. The Penn State investigations appears to reveal an unreasonable cover up since the child molestation allegations against Sandusky were never reported to the police or child protective agencies by any of the university’s officials or employees. It is obvious that in light of this recent scandal, Penn State is involved in a legal thicket and a moral dilemma. Therefore, the following question arises. What is the civil responsibility of the university when an alleged child sexual abuse offense is committed by one of its officials, employees or independent contractors, or on its premises?
Is it not our individual or professional duty to ensure that our children are safe? Fortunately in Florida, the legislature believes that children deserves the maximum protection against child sexual predators and makes it mandatory for anyone, regardless of their profession, who knows or has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been abused or neglected to report. Therefore, failure to report a suspected Florida institutional child abuse or neglect case by a university official, professor, employee or coach has significant legal consequences.
In a prior blog we have written about civil claims involving negligence in Florida. Under negligence theory, the plaintiff has to prove four elements against a defendant in court; duty, breach, causation and damages. Thus, if a civil action were to be filed against a higher education institution such as Penn State, based upon child sexual assault claims, the plaintiff would have to establish that he or she were owed a duty by the university, which was beached. And due to the breach, caused the plaintiff to sustain injuries and that damage was incurred as a result. But, depending upon state law and a university’s legal structure it is likely that a higher institution of learning or a school will attempt to raise the defense of sovereign immunity. An Orlando child abuse attorney can help injured children who have been harmed in a child abuse occurrence at a school, college or university.
Further, in some jurisdictions courts can hold higher education institutions liable under the doctrine of vicariously liability. Under this common law theory, courts can find a university strictly responsible because as an employer, they have the right to control the conduct of its employees who while during the scope of their employment inflicts harm or injury to a third party. As a result, Penn State could possibly argue that numerous of the alleged incidents occurred after the time Sandusky retired in 1999. However, as a University emeritus, Sandusky still had accessed to many of the campus facilities where some of the speculated wrongdoings occurred, and that could possibly materialize into a premise liability lawsuit, due to the unsafe conditions on the premises and a failure by the university to adequately warn the parties who were injured on its property. While these are a few of the possible civil legal claims available for similarly situated mistreated sufferers of institutional child abuse, there are a myriad of other claims. It is best to contact a Miami personal injury lawyer who can discuss all of the available legal theories and remedies involved in cases of child sexual assaults.
In 2010, Governor Charlie Crist signed into law Florida House Bill 525 which eliminated the civil statute of limitations (SOL) on child sex abuse cases. Under current law, minor children under the age of 16 at the time of their abuse can hold their abusers accountable at any time, if not barred by the SOL as of July 1, 2010. Essentially, the new law recognizes that there are many psychological effects an abused child endures and it is considered normal for a child to repress his or her memories of such a traumatic event. Nevertheless, children and parents living in Florida and who have or are facing similar circumstances should contact a Florida personal injury attorney immediately who can provide the needed guidance in a child sexual abuse civil lawsuit.
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