Did Joe Paterno Break The Law By Not Calling The Police On Jerry Sandusky?

Reaction was swift and unanimous: Paterno, along with many others, made a mistake.

But Paterno appears to have followed the letter of the law in his handling of the allegation brought to him by a graduate assistant, who had allegedly seen Sandusky sexually assaulting a preteen in Penn State’s locker room. The coach reportedly won’t be charged with any crime.

Here’s, as far as I can tell, the relevant Pennsylvania code:

Licensees who are staff members of a medical or other public or private institution, school, facility or agency, and who, in the course of their employment, occupation or practice of their profession, come into contact with children shall immediately notify the person in charge of the institution, school facility or agency or the designated agent of the person in charge when they have reasonable cause to suspect on the basis of their professional or other training or experience, that a child coming before them in their professional or official capacity is a victim of child abuse. Upon notification by the licensee, the person in charge or the designated agent shall assume the responsibility and have the legal obligation to report or cause a report to be made.

The legal question of whether Paterno counts as the person in charge appears to have been answered by the fact that he hasn’t been and reportedly won’t be charged.

It doesn’t absolve him of responsibility, and it doesn’t mean the entire Penn State football program isn’t in jeopardy over this horrific episode that should’ve ended with Sandusky in a courtroom more than a decade ago.