In an interview with CBS's "Meet the Nation," President of Penn State University, Rodney Erickson said the university is adequately prepared to resolve the various lawsuits it faces in light of the former football coach Jerry Sandusky's child sex-abuse scandal and the consequential cover-up revealed in the recently released Freeh Reports.
"We hope to be able to settle as many of these cases as quickly as possible...don't want to, if at all possible, drag victims through another round of court cases and litigation. If we can come to an agreement with them, with their attorneys, we believe that would be the best possible outcome in this whole very, very difficult, tragic situation," said Erickson in the CBS Interview, which airs Sunday.
With regards to the civil lawsuits and the recently imposed $ 60 million fine by the NCAA, Erickson said that the University is "adequately covered,'' according the Associated Press.
Last week, Victim 2, the victim who claims to be molested in the shower by former Penn State University football coach says that he plans to sue the university for the cover up which was revealed in the release of the FBI Freeh report.
The reports which prompted the litigation were released earlier this month by former FBI director Louis Freeh, who conducted the investigation released a report detailing his findings, the report gained his name as the Freeh reports. The reports revealed that the top university officials had "total disregard" for the victims during the period of reported abuse.
The 267 page report was formed over seven months of investigation, more than 400 interviews, and a review of over 3.5 million documents. The report implicates the University President Graham Spanier, Vice President Gary Schultz, Athletic Director Tim Curley as well as the deceased head football coach Joe Paterno as actively and consciously trying to hide the events and protect Sandusky.
The most powerful PSU officials "repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse from the authorities, the board of trustees, the Penn State community and the public at large," according the New York Times.
Sandusky, 68, is currently in Centre County prison awaiting his sentencing. He could face a maximum sentence of 373 years.
In May a jury of seven women and five men found the 68 year-old guilty of 45 out of the 48 counts against him for sexual abuse of ten young boys over a span of 15 years.
