Penn State fined $2.4M for mishandling sex crimes on campus

The U.S. Department of Education has issued a record $2.4 million fine against Pennsylvania State University following the investigation into the school’s handling of sexual assault cases.

The 2012 conviction of the school’s former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky, prompted the investigation.

{mosads}The report the agency released Thursday found that the school had violated the Clery Act, a federal law that requires colleges and universities to track and disclose information about crime on or near campus.

The agency said it launched the comprehensive review after Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing several boys over multiple years. Several of the incidents occurred on campus.

“For colleges and universities to be safe spaces for learning and self-development, institutions must ensure student safety — a part of which is being transparent about incidents on their campuses. Disclosing this information is the law,” Education Under Secretary Ted Mitchell said in a statement.

“When we determine that an institution is not upholding this obligation, then there must be consequences.”

In addition to Clery Act violations related to the Sandusky case, the agency found that the school failed to properly classify reported incidents and disclose crime statistics from 2008 to 2011, maintain an accurate and complete daily crime log, and publish and distribute an annual security report.