Insurance: Joe Paterno was told about child sex abuse in 1976

A court case concerning whether or not an insurance company has to reimburse Penn State for settlement payouts regarding child sex abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky has led to a bombshell revelation.

According to a line from the insurance case, a child allegedly told Joe Paterno in 1976 that he was sexually molested by Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky was a linebackers coach at Penn State at the time. He was promoted to defensive coordinator a year later, which is also when he set up his children’s charity, The Second Mile, which he used as a vehicle to meet his future victims. He is in jail after being sentenced in 2012 for over 50 counts of child sex abuse.

Sandusky was arrested and charged in 2011 following a two-year grand jury investigation into his serial child sexual abuse over the years. Penn State officials knew about the abuse at least since 1998, records show, but not only failed to stop it, they allowed it to continue for fear of negative publicity.

There was always a major dispute about what Joe Paterno knew and didn’t stop. Paterno and his defenders maintain the coach passed information to his superiors when told by Mike McQueary of child sex abuse committed by Sandusky at a Penn State shower in 2002. Others say Paterno and fellow Penn State officials knew about the abuse for much longer than that and allowed it to continue.

This insurance claim not only says a report of sex abuse was told to Paterno in 1976, but also that assistant coaches witnessed inappropriate contact between Sandusky and children in 1987 and 1988. A 1988 incident was supposedly referred to Penn State’s athletic director at the time.

Penn Live says all of this information comes from victim depositions which are under seal.

Penn State has paid out over $60 million in settlements with Sandusky’s victims.