NOW Urges Penn State to Allow Former FBI Director to Lead a Broader, "Fully Independent" Investigation

Statement of NOW President Terry O'Neill and Pennsylvania NOW President Joanne Tosti-Vasey

Last week, in the wake of the recent appalling Penn State University child sexual assault allegations, the leaders of the National Organization for Women and Pennsylvania NOW called on Penn State University to expand the composition and goals of the committee tasked with investigating these allegations. We specifically called for an independent committee to investigate these allegations, to review policies and reporting methods across the board at Penn State and to include all forms of campus violence within its scope.

Yesterday, Ron Frazier, a member of the PSU Board of Trustees and Chair of the PSU Special Investigative Committee, announced that the committee has hired Louis J. Freeh, former FBI director, to lead the independent investigation. Mr. Freeh stated that he has been assured that his investigation will be "fully independent" and that it will focus on any incident that interacts with the university dealing with "these types" of incidents, including cases of adult sexual assault. Mr. Freeh also stated that he would be looking into the "governance, controls, procedures and leadership" at the university to improve the climate of safety at the university and that his team of investigators includes former FBI agents, assistant U.S. attorneys, pedophile investigators and compliance investigators.

NOW believes that this is a good start to our call for a broader, independent investigation if --and only if-- Mr. Freeh is "fully independent" as he stated.  However, questions have been raised about his independence and these questions must be completely answered. 

We call on Mr. Freeh to include in his investigation all forms of campus violence, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Unless PSU's systematic climate of indifference, particularly within Athletics, is comprehensively reviewed and changed, we believe that these types of appalling acts will continue to be hidden and will not end.  We also believe that, in addition to attorneys and law enforcement experts, the investigative team needs to include experts and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence against both children and adults. Mr. Freeh and his committee must take their experiences and suggestions seriously.  

Mr. Freeh has set up a hotline to his risk management firm at 855-290-3382 and psuhelp@freehgroup.com for individuals with any knowledge about any incident or policy, or the PSU climate to contact him.

NOW activists will be closely monitoring the investigation in the hope that it will be truly independent, comprehensive in scope and aimed squarely at achieving -- at long last -- full enforcement of the school's 2006 zero-tolerance policy.

For further information, contact: Joanne Tosti-Vasey (Pennsylvania NOW) Phone: (814) 280-8571 OR Latoya Veal (National NOW)  w. 202-628-8669, ext. 116; c. 301-660-3447

Two News Reports Call for an Independent Investigation into PSU Sex Abuse Scandal

There were two articles in the news today about the lack of independence and transparency in the Penn State University Board of Trustees investigation into the allegations of child sexual assault. 

The first call for independence is in The Nation. It includes my full statement in response to Dave Zirin’s article of November 15, 2011 entitled “The World Joe Paterno Made."  In that article, Dave Zirin quoted something I said in 2006.  Here's what he wrote:

The signs of this malignancy did not emerge overnight. Looking backward, there are moments that speak of the scandals to come. In 2003, less than one year after Paterno was told that Sandusky was raping children, he allowed a player accused of rape to suit up and play in a bowl game. Widespread criticism of this move was ignored. In 2006, Penn State’s Orange Bowl opponent Florida State, sent home linebacker A.J. Nicholson, after accusations of sexual assault. Paterno’s response, in light of recent events, is jaw-dropping. He said, “There’s so many people gravitating to these kids. He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do? Geez. I hope—thank God they don’t knock on my door because I’d refer them to a couple of other rooms.” Joanne Tosti-Vasey, president of Pennsylvania’s National Organization for Women in Pennsylvania, was not amused. With chilling unintentional prescience, Tosti-Vasey responded, “Allegations of sexual assault should never be taken lightly. Making light of sexual assault sends the message that rape is something to be expected and accepted.”

Mr. Zirin and I corresponded last night after this article was posted.  This morning, he posted my full statement regarding NOW's current call for an expanded, independent review as part of his blog.

The second call for independence is made by the editors of the Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News.  They don’t ask for an expanded review, but do call for independence.  And one of the people they mention as a better leader for the committee (rather than a PSU Board of Trustee member) is Barbara Hafer, former Commonwealth of PA Treasurer and Auditor General as well as a former, long-time NOW member.