Penn State University will pay $59.7 million to 26 young men due to the claims of child sexual abuse at the hands of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, Reuters reported.
According to the school, 23 deals have been signed, and three are agreements in principle. The school faces six more claims, but the university believes some do not have enough merit, but others may result in a settlement, the Associated Press reported.
Penn State University President Rodney Erickson said the settlements were a step forward for the victims, as well as for the school, acknowledging that although the past cannot be undone, they will ensure it will never happen again, the AP reported. Erickson stated that 45 claims had been filed in June 2012 and that Penn State was determined to compensate all the victims.
Penn State is following a policy where they do not confirm deals, and instead announce them immediately. The settlements began to be released in mid-August when the victims attorney's began to disclose them, the AP reported.
Ben Andreozzi, who helped negotiate several settlements, said his clients were satisfied. Andreozzi also represents others who have come forward recently, but said those claims have not been presented to the university yet, the AP reported.
"They felt that the university treated them fairly with the economic and noneconomic terms of the settlement," Andreozzi said, according to the AP.
Penn State, which has spent more than $50 million with all costs related to the Sandusky scandal, said on Monday that liability insurance is going to cover the payments and legal defense, but expenses not covered will be paid from interest paid on loans by Penn State to its self-supporting units, according to Reuters.
Sandusky, who is 69 and did not testify at his trial, was convicted of abusing 10 boys, some of them on Penn State facility grounds. Eight of those boys have testified against him and have described the abuse they went through ranging from oral sex to rape, according to the AP. Sandusky is serving a 30 to 60-year-sentence and is currently pursuing appeals.
Although Sandusky acknowledged that he showered with the boys, he continues to declare his innocence and insists he never molested any of the boys, the AP reported.
Former president Graham Spanier, retired vice president Gary Schultz and retired athletic director Tim Curley, three other former Penn State administrators, await to stand trial in Harrisburg stemming from charges of a cover-up, according to the AP. All three deny allegations linked to the sex abuse scandal. A trial date has not been set.
