New Bombshell Drops in Jerry Sandusky Child Sex Abuse Scandal — Latest Claim Goes Back to 1976

A new claim has been made in an ongoing legal battle surrounding the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, according to Pennlive.com.

In court documents filed Thursday, one of Penn State's insurers claimed that "in 1976, a child allegedly reported to PSU's Head Coach Joseph Paterno that he (the child) was sexually molested by Sandusky."

Penn State's current legal battle regarding the abuse scandal is with its insurance company, as the university argues that the insurer should reimburse it for the money it has paid settling civil cases in the fallout of the Sandusky case — more than $60 million dollars.

Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State assistant football coach (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sandusky was convicted in 2012 for the sexual abuse of 10 boys.

The case shocked the nation and divided the Penn State community over how much Paterno, the university’s legendary football coach, may have known about Sandusky's conduct.

In a series of tweets, Joe Paterno's son Scott Paterno disputed the claim, calling it “bunk.”

Wick Sollers, the Paterno family's attorney, said in a statement provided to to Pennlive.com that "Over the past four-and-a-half years Joe Paterno's conduct has been scrutinized by an endless list of investigators and attorneys."

"Through all of this review there has never been any evidence of inappropriate conduct by Coach Paterno,” Sollers said. “To the contrary, the evidence clearly shows he shared information with his superiors as appropriate. An allegation now about an alleged event 40 years ago, as represented by a single line in a court document regarding an insurance issue, with no corroborating evidence, does not change the facts. Joe Paterno did not, at any time, cover up conduct by Jerry Sandusky."

Paterno was fired from Penn State following Sandusky’s arrest. He died in 2012. He was never charged with a crime in the case.