Penn State's board of trustees says it will create a special committee on Friday to investigate the sex abuse allegations made against a former assistant football coach.
The announcement Tuesday came after supporters of head football coach Joe Paterno rallied outside his home while others called for him to resign because of the child sex scandal.
Paterno, a longtime coach with a largely spotless record, is under pressure because of his response to allegations brought to him in 2002 by a graduate assistant who said he had seen retired defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy in the shower at the campus football complex.
Paterno reported the allegations to his boss, and Pennsylvania's attorney general said it appeared that the coach had met his obligations under state law. Still, some critics have said that he should have reported the suspected abuse to police.The allegations became public last week after a grand jury report on the case was released. Authorities arrested Sandusky on Saturday and two other Penn State officials have been arrested in connection with the case.
The board of trustees said it was concerned about the grand jury report.
"The Board of Trustees of The Pennsylvania State University is outraged by the horrifying details contained in the Grand Jury Report," the board said in a press statement. "This Special Committee will be commissioned to determine what failures occurred, who is responsible and what measures are necessary to insure that this never happens at our University again."
Sandusky is accused of sexual offenses, child endangerment and "corruption of a minor" charges involving eight boys, most or all of whom he met through the Second Mile, the charity he founded to help troubled youth, according to prosecutors.
Sandusky's involvement with the group provided him with "access to hundreds of boys, many of whom were vulnerable due to their social situations," the grand jury said. The former coach is said to have engaged in fondling, oral sex and anal sex with young boys over at least 15 years, according to the investigative grand jury's summary of testimony.
A source with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed to CNN's Jason Carroll that a man walked into a Montoursville, Pennsylvania, state police station and claimed he was victimized by Sandusky. Interviews with the man will determine whether he's a ninth victim, the source said.
Sandusky, who served 23 years as defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions football team before retiring in 1999, is free on $100,000 bail.
A preliminary hearing for Sandusky, originally set for Wednesday, has been rescheduled for December 7, officials said Tuesday afternoon. Sandusky's attorney has said more time was needed to bring in witnesses.
On Sunday, Penn State announced that two university officials accused by state authorities of failing to report suspected abuse had stepped down, one of them returning to retirement and the other taking administrative leave.
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