Penn State settlement marks Sandusky milestone

Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa.

Penn State may never be able to fully shake off the Jerry Sandusky child- molestation scandal, but news that one victim has settled and other claimants may be soon follow marks a legal milestone after almost a year of negotiations.

Attorney Tom Kline said Saturday that a 25-year-old suburban Philadelphia man known as “Victim 5” in court filings had completed the agreement with the university, the first to come to terms with the university that once employed Sandusky as an assistant football coach.

Another attorney, Mike Boni, one of four lawyers representing 10 claimants — including the young man whose complaint triggered the Sandusky criminal investigation — said Sunday those claims were close to being resolved.

Lawyer Jeff Anderson told The Associated Press on Sunday that his two cases are “still a work in progress.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Saturday that 26 of 31 claims are close to being settled, which would validate the strategy used by Penn State to compensate Sandusky’s victims, said Richard Serbin, an Altoona lawyer who has represented sex-abuse victims for 25 years.

Penn State announced a year ago — the day Sandusky was convicted of 45 criminal counts — that it hoped to compensate his victims fairly and quickly. Penn State’s trustees have authorized some $60 million to be used for settlements.

Sandusky, 69, is serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence for child molestation and related offenses.