UCLA assistant Tom Bradley denies knowing of allegations of Sandusky’s abuse before Penn State officials did

UCLA defensive coordinator Tom Bradley refuted testimony included in court documents unsealed Tuesday contending he knew about alleged incidents of sexual abuse involving former Penn State colleague Jerry Sandusky prior to their being reported to university administrators.

According to a statement released by Bradley’s attorney, Brett Senior, Bradley never witnessed improper behavior involving Sandusky or knew about alleged incidents of sexual abuse that occurred in the 1980s or ’90s. Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of assaulting 10 boys over a 15-year period and was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison.

“He has consistently testified as such,” Senior said of Bradley, who spent more than three decades at Penn State as a player, assistant coach and interim coach. “Any assertions to the contrary are false. When he became aware of the 2001 incident it had already been reported to the university administration years earlier.”

Penn State graduate assistant Mike McQueary said he witnessed Sandusky molesting a boy in a football shower room in 2001 and reported the incident to Coach Joe Paterno. McQueary also claimed in a deposition released Tuesday that assistant coaches Bradley and Greg Schiano also had known about Sandusky’s history of abusing children.

McQueary asserted in the court record that when he told Bradley about what he had seen in the shower, Bradley did not act surprised. Bradley went on to tell him about an incident in which Schiano had witnessed Sandusky molesting a child in the 1990s, McQueary said.

McQueary testified that Bradley told him Schiano “had come into his office white as a ghost and said he just saw Jerry doing something to a boy in the shower.” McQueary also said Bradley had told him an individual had reported to Bradley another incident of abuse as far back as the 1980s.

Schiano, an assistant at Penn State from 1990 to ’95, is now the defensive coordinator at Ohio State. He tweeted Tuesday that he “never saw any abuse, nor had reason to suspect any abuse, during my time at Penn State.”

Penn State President Eric Barron released a statement saying the university’s “overriding concern has been, and remains, for the victims of Jerry Sandusky. Although settlements have been reached, it is important to reiterate that the alleged knowledge of former Penn State employees is not proven, and should not be treated as such. Some individuals deny the claims, and others are unable to defend themselves. Speculation also serves to drive a wedge within the Penn State community.”

Bradley is entering his second year at UCLA.

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