Judge Louis Freeh will lead an independent investigative review into all aspects of Penn State's action in regard to the child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
"I'm committed to ensuring that our independent investigation be conducted in a thorough, fair and comprehensive manner, leaving no stone unturned and without any fear or favor," said Freeh.
Freeh said that his team will study, review, and test the university policies, procedures, compliance, and internal control relating to the identifying of such sex crimes and misconduct. This isn't a criminal investigation, but Freeh said that if any criminal activity is uncovered, it will be reported to the proper authorities.
"If our investigation identifies any additional victims of sexual crimes against or exploitation of children, we will immediately report this to law enforcement authorities," he said.
The investigative team will work with law enforcement and the university in its review.
Penn State Board of Trustees Special Committee Chairman, Ken Frazier, said Freeh's background in child sex abuse cases makes him an excellent pick to lead the probe.
"He has complete reign to follow any lead, look into every corner of the university, to get to the bottom of what happened, then to make recommendations that will help ensure that it never happens again," said Frazier.
There will be no interim reports made from Freeh or his team, and at this time, he said there is no set timeline to complete the investigation. Findings will be made public around the same time that they are given to the board of trustees.
Freeh announced that a confidential, toll-free hotline has been established for anyone who may have information that could help in the investigation.
The hotline, 1-855-290-3382 will be active starting at 5:00 PM EST Monday. Emails can be sent to: PSUhelp@freehgroup.com.
