6 nov ember 28, 2 011
special edition
STUDENT REACTIONS FROM PAGE 3
sylvania State University. The situation has seen a number of developments since Nov. 17. District Attorney William Fitzpatrick expressed outrage with Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler and Deputy Chief Shawn Broton regarding the leaking of a witness affidavit, according to an article published
“If he’s lying, he’s going to be in trouble, too. You don’t want Boeheim to be in trouble. It’s Boeheim.” Shirley Daniels
SOPHOMORE COMMUNICATION AND RHETORICAL STUDIES MAJOR
by The Post-Standard on Nov. 23. On Friday, Fine’s DeWitt home was searched by a team of U.S. Secret Service members, Syracuse police and New York state police officers, The Post-Standard reported on Nov. 25. Following reports that a third person accusing Fine of sexual molestation stepped forward,
COMPARISON FROM PAGE 3
Maine, is now 23 and facing sexual assault charges of his own involving a 14-year-old boy in Maine. Fine has not been charged. Sandusky has. After a grand jury investigation, Sandusky was indicted on 40 counts of child molestation dating from 1994 to 2004, although the abuse may go as far back as the 1970s. Sandusky allegedly had inappropriate contact with at least eight young boys — sometimes in university facilities. Penn State wide receivers coach Mike McQueary, who has since been placed on administrative leave, testified in the grand jury investigation. The report says administrators didn’t contact authorities after McQueary, then a graduate assistant, said he saw Sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy in the football facility shower in 2002. Authorities say Sandusky met many of his alleged victims through The Second Mile, a charity he founded for at-risk children. “Right off the bat, the only question is not whether somebody is an alleged molester,” said Jeffrey Lindy of the Philadelphia-based law firm Lindy and Tauber. “The question is whether there was an accusation that was ignored or improperly handled or, more sinister, swept under the rug and thereafter the guy kept molesting.” With the case in Syracuse, Lindy said, the allegations against Fine date back to the 1980s.
the university terminated Fine from his position as associate head coach Sunday night. Jonathan Grimes, a junior biology major, said he felt SU took the appropriate steps in releasing Fine. But he was not in the opinion that Boeheim should be fired, too. “Everything happened off campus, according to what I’ve heard. It’s a personal thing,” Grimes said. “I think it shouldn’t get to (Boeheim).” Shirley Daniels, a sophomore communication and rhetorical studies major and member of the SU softball team, held a similar opinion. She believes the case came to light because of the recent developments at Penn State. “If he’s lying, he’s going to be in trouble, too. You don’t want Boeheim to be in trouble. It’s Boeheim,” she said. For Graham Heberlig, a junior chemistry major, additional allegations against figures at other collegiate sports programs were inevitable. “The whole thing with (Jerry) Sandusky opened up a can of worms,” he said. “I think we’re going to see a whole lot more of this in the coming months.” Joseph Iluore, a senior biology major on the pre-med track, gave Fine the benefit of the doubt when the story first broke, dismissing the accuser’s actions as a grab for attention. But now, he said he’s not so sure.
But there is no allegation that because the Syracuse Police Department and the university didn’t act when Davis first reported the alleged abuse, Fine continued to molest while he was employed by the university. Davis spoke to Syracuse police over the phone about the allegations in mid-2002 but was told the statute of limitations expired. SU launched an investigation in 2005 after an adult male reported inappropriate conduct by an associate men’s basketball coach to SPD. The investigation lasted nearly four months and “all of those identified by the complainant denied any knowledge of wrongful conduct by the associate coach,” said Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs, in a Nov. 17 statement. Unlike Syracuse, Penn State never officially conducted an investigation into Sandusky. Sandusky retired in 1999 and still had full access to the Penn State football facilities until a few weeks ago. “Again, very different from Penn State, is Sandusky was not only abusing after Penn State officials knew the allegations, he was doing it on campus — in the Penn State locker room where he had an office because he was an emeritus professor,” said Lindy, who has prosecuted and defended sex abuse cases. “I mean Penn State is going to get tagged. They are going to get tagged in the civil suit.” But Lindy said he doesn’t expect there to be any liability for SU because there’s no allegation that Fine abused after administrative officials conducted their investigation in 2005. “So the question that I think Syracuse Uni-
ankur patankar | asst. presentation director Supporters of Bernie Fine left a signed poster outside the front of his house in DeWitt after the initial allegations against the former associate coach arose. The university needed to release Fine, even if he is found innocent, because of his association with SU and the university’s overall image, he said.
“We all need time to recover from this,” he said. “And this is the best way, I feel, moving forward.”
versity would say, ‘Well, we had no suggestion other than that first allegation from long ago that he was doing anything on our campus,’” Lindy said. Unlike Penn State, no university or athletic officials at SU have come forward saying they saw or were told of the abuse and failed to report it. At Penn State, McQueary told Paterno of the abuse, and Paterno reported it to the athletic director instead of the police.
coach also admitted to “horsing around” in the showers with a young boy the night McQueary described in the grand jury investigation. Meanwhile, Fine released a statement through his lawyer on Nov. 18 calling the allegations against him “patently false.” The biggest differences in the two cases, Lindy said, are that there is no charge against Fine in Syracuse and there is no allegation Fine abused on Syracuse property after the allega-
dmsegelb@syr.edu
“Again, very different from Penn State, is Sandusky was not only abusing after Penn State officials knew the allegations, he was doing it on campus — in the Penn State locker room where he had an office because he was an emeritus professor. I mean Penn State is going to get tagged. They are going to get tagged in the civil suit.”
Jeffrey Lindy
PHILADELPHIA-BASED L AW YER WHO HAS PROSECUTED AND DEFENDED SEX ABUSE CASES
One similarity in the two cases is both Fine and Sandusky have maintained their innocence, although Sandusky has spoken out publicly in a phone interview with NBC’s Bob Costas. “I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their leg without intent of sexual content,” Sandusky said in the Nov. 14 interview. The former Penn State assistant
tion became known to the university in 2005, while Sandusky committed abuse on campus after Penn State officials knew of the allegation. But some similarities remain. “That’s the thing everybody is struggling with — that sports are bigger than anything,” Lindy said. “And if a big sports figure gets accused of something, you start sweeping under the rug. That’s the similarity.” jdharr04@syr.edu
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