Burns: Troubling that delays in Sandusky investigation resulted in more victims
Rep. Frank Burns June 24, 2014
HARRISBURG, June 24 – State Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria/Somerset, released the following statement regarding the Office of Attorney General's report on the handling of the investigation into the sexual abuse allegations against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky:
"While it is heartening to learn that political motivation was not directly the reason behind the long investigation into the charges against Jerry Sandusky, it is quite troubling to learn from Attorney General Kathleen Kane that two additional boys became victims because the office waited to arrest Sandusky. It is likely that those two victims could have been spared had Sandusky been arrested when that action was first sought.
"Sandusky was successfully prosecuted, but the fact of the matter is that there was still a lengthy period between knowing when this predator had violated a child and when he was actually prosecuted for much wider conduct.
"The reality is when you have a child predator, the most important action for prosecutors should be to get that predator off the street. But that did not happen. That was just one of the 'inexcusable' delays in the investigation. The report detailed other such delays, including waiting two years before serving a search warrant for Sandusky's home and a five-month gap between the initial request to prosecute Sandusky and a response from superiors.
"So even though Governor Corbett was not found to have directly delayed the investigation for political reasons, I believe his lack of leadership in the Attorney General's Office because he was out campaigning for governor could have impacted this case. That is why I would support a bill that would not permit a sitting attorney general to run for another office.
"I also am hopeful that this study into how the Sandusky investigation was handled will result in changes to the investigative process in order to protect children from predators."