A new report released today by former FBI director Louis Freech states that senior Penn State officials concealed critical facts about Jerry Sandusky’s sex abuse case, Fox News is reporting. The report states that the officials, including Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno, President Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley, were worried about bad publicity.

During the eight-month investigation into the scandal by Freech, who was hired by university trustees weeks after Sandusky was arrested, he found that the officials failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade. The report added that the sexual abuse might have been prevented if university officials had banned Sandusky from bringing children onto campus after an inquiry in 1998.

The woman whose son showered with Sandusky in 1998 filed a complaint at the time. However, no charges were drawn up, because Penn State’s vice president, Gary Schultz, was worried of the consequences.

Freech said in the report that one of the most saddening findings “is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State.” He added that “the most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.”

Written by: Karen Benardello