Paul Murphy / Eyewitness News
Email: pmurphy@wwltv.com | Twitter: @pmurphywwl
NEW ORLEANS -- Penn State's own internal investigation tells a tale of misplaced priorities.
The 267-page report released Thursday, conducted by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, found that the big men on campus concealed a pattern of child sex abuse at the hands of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
According to the report: "The most saddening finding by the special investigative counsel is the total and consistent disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's victims."
"The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized," said Freeh.
The report singles out Penn State's hall of fame coach, the late Joe Paterno and the university's former president, senior vp and athletic director.
"While there was concern to treat the child abuser humanely was expressly stated, no such sentiments were ever expressed by them to Sandusky's victims," said Freeh.
"In looking at the report, there's no question that there was a lack of leadership at the top of Penn State University," said former federal prosecutor and Eyewitness News legal analyst Donald "Chick" Foret. "It also indicated to me the apparent power that Joe Paterno had."
"The well-being of a sports program or of a coach's career or of a coach's reputation or a university's reputation does not outweigh our desire to protect our children from sexual predators," said state Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans.
Morrell wrote the new state law, inspired by the Penn State scandal, that now requires any adult who knows a child is being abused to report it.
"At this point in this state, if a child is being abused sexually and you don't report it, you're going to jail," said Morrell.
Foret said with the new law, along with its whistle-blower reporter status, Louisiana has an effective tool to fight child abuse.
"As a result of the Sandusky tragedy, children in Louisiana will now be better protected," said Foret.
You can report child abuse to police or Louisiana's 24-hour, toll-free hotline, 1-855-4LA-KIDS.
In the year since the state launched the hotline. the Department of Child and Family Services has reviewed more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect.
