@flo
I think it’s confusing the issue slightly to conflate LEGAL responsibility WITH MORAL responsibility.
The issues of Catholic parents accepting settlements and also Toddler and Tiara-type parents are in the category of MORAL responsibility (unless there is actual sexual molestation on the part of a parent).
But the discussion regarding the Penn State officials has now shifted focus to their LEGAL responsibility since they themselves were not sexually abusing children and Sandusky himself as the perpetrator has been declared guilty in a court of law.
It’s obvious that Spanier and his cohorts had a moral responsibility to these kids (which they abandoned in favor of money) but the question remains about what LEGAL penalties they should incur.
According to the Freeh report, there is no question that the abuse had been reported to them by Paterno and by extension, Mike McQueery as the eyewitness.
According to PA. STATE LAW, at that point they were LEGALLY REQUIRED to report to the State Child Welfare Dept.
It does not matter whether they had all the facts or even if they had doubts about the validity of the details of the incident.
The law is clear that because of their professional capacity (as school officials) they are deemed as mandated reporters. They don’t have a choice. They are legally required to make a report of any incidents of child abuse of which they are made aware.Clearly they did not do this. It doesn’t matter what excuse they give.
That part is clear. So they broke the law in that regard and there is no excuse.
What’s not that clear is what their penalty for breaking that law will be.
But they haven’t even been officially charged and tried yet. But there is no way they can avoid a trial (other than a plea deal) since they have broken a clear legal statute.
I’m hoping that their penalties will include real jail time as well as fines to send a clear message to other schools and officials. But that remains to be seen.