By Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY
The young man whose 2009 allegations of sexual abuse led to the Penn State scandal and criminal convictions of former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky is suing the university, the Associated Press reports.
A lawsuit, filed Friday by the man known only as "Victim 1," said university officials made deliberate decisions not to report Sandusky to authorities.
It described their actions as"a function of (Penn State's) purposeful, deliberate and shameful subordination of the safety of children to its economic self-interests, and to its interest in maintaining and perpetuating its reputation."
On June 22, Sandusky was convicted of abusing 10 boys over 15 years. Former Penn State vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley face charges of perjury and failing to report to authorities a 2001 allegation that Sandusky had attacked a young boy in the football building's showers.
That boy, known as "Victim 2," also plans to sue the university for failing to protect him from sexual abuse, his attorneys have said.
Famed football coach Joe Paterno, who died last January, was fired as result of the scandal.
The lawsuit filed by "Victim 1" claims that a "special relationship" between Penn State and The Second Mile, a Sandusky-founded charity for youth, gave Sandusky a respectable public image and connections that enabled him to perform criminal acts, the AP reports.
It alleges that "(Penn State) believed its reputation and economic interests would be adversely impacted if the public learned that a man closely associated with the school's football program was, in fact, a pedophile."
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
University spokesman Dave La Torre told the AP the school has no comment on the pending litigation.
USA Today and Associated Press