Probe Condemns Penn State's "Total Disregard" For Victims' Welfare

UPDATE: The final report from Penn State's internal probe of the Jerry Sandusky case was released Thursday morning, and it doesn't look good for the university—or for the late Joe Paterno.

Everyone's still sorting through the 267-page report, but here are a few of the early takeaways:

—NBC News: "Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and other university leaders 'repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse' from authorities, according to Louis Freeh, the former FBI director who conducted an investigation in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal."

—CBS News: "Freeh says the investigation found that Paterno; athletic director Tim Curley; Gary Schultz, a university vice president who oversaw the campus police department; former university president Graham Spanier 'never demonstrated, through actions or words, any concern for the safety and well-being of Sandusky's victims until after Sandusky's arrest.'"

—Statement from Freeh: "Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State. The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized."

—CNN: "Former university vice president Gary Schultz and ex-athletic director Tim Curley also failed to protect victims from former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, the report found. 'Indeed, that continued access provided Sandusky with the very currency that enabled him to attract his victims. Some coaches, administrators and football program staff members ignored the red flags of Sandusky's behaviors and no one warned the public about him,' the report says."

Penn State officials are planning on speaking this afternoon at around 3:30 p.m. Here's part of the initial statement from the school: "We want to ensure we are giving the report careful scrutiny and consideration before making any announcements or recommendations. We are convening an internal team comprising the Board of Trustees, University administration and our legal counsel to begin analyzing the report and digesting Judge Freeh’s findings."

You can check out the full Freeh report here, or head here to check out what Slate's Emily Bazelon and Josh Levin have to say about the whole thing.

Tuesday, July 10: A report from an eight-month, independent investigation of the Jerry Sandusky case focused on the degree to which Penn State officials were involved in covering up the former assistant football coach’s child molestation incidents will be released on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Penn State trustees hired former FBI Director Louis Freeh two weeks after Sandusky’s arrest to learn more about how much the university was involved in the child sex abuse case. Sandusky was convicted on 45 child sex abuse charges last month.

The university reeled in the wake of Sandusky’s arrest, resulting in the dismissal of celebrated head football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier in November. Paterno died in January.

News of the report’s release comes on the same day Spanier’s lawyers announced that the former president had spoken with Freeh last week to say that he had never been told anything that indicated Sandusky’s illegal behavior, according to CNN.

The report is expected to provide more details about how the university was involved with the Sandusky child abuse case, particularly the instances in 1998 and 2001 when complaints were lodged about the former coach’s behavior, the Associated Press writes. The online release of the probe this Thursday at 9 a.m. will be the first time anybody outside the investigation team, even the trustees who commissioned it, will see the report.