In a disturbing series of weeks, universities are coming forward, either acknowledging instances of child sex abuse or firing those involved.
Syracuse University is the latest university to respond to child sex abuse allegations against a member of its community. Sunday night, in the wake of an audio tape recording linking Syracuse University’s assistant men’s basketball coach Bernie Fine to the alleged molestation of at least one boy and a federal investigation, the university terminated his contract.
Syracuse issued the following statement: ”At the direction of Chancellor Cantor, Bernie Fine’s employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective immediately.”
Shortly after a grand jury indicted Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State football coach for molesting at least eight boys, news media began reporting on allegations that Fine had molested boys. Bobby Davis, a former Syracuse ball boy and his stepbrother, Mike Lang, accused Fine of molesting them. In the wake of those allegations, Fine was placed on leave, but the university quickly pointed out that it had conducted its own investigation six years ago, and could not “find any corroboration of the allegations.” University officials also noted at the time that close friends and acquaintances of Fine found it hard to believe that he could possibly molest a child.
The surfacing of an audio tape now raises questions about who knew of the abuse, including whether Fine’s wife was aware and if she was an eye witness to at least one occasion of molestation. Like Sandusky at Penn State, Fine has been a longstanding member of his university’s athletic program, serving as assistant coach to Jim Boeheim, head basketball coach, for the past 35 years. Like senior administrators at Penn State, Boeheim first issued a statement giving his “full support” to Fine. Sunday night, he issued an apology.
Fine’s termination coincided with the ESPN release of a 2002 secret audio recording in which Davis speaks with a woman who ESPN experts say is Mrs. Laurie Fine. The woman in the recording acknowledges that she was aware of the molestation and had warned her husband that news of it might come out. The woman in the tape acknowledges that on one occasion, she witnessed the abuse in the basement. Among other things, the woman informs Davis that her husband was interested in boys and not her.
But, at least one newspaper, the Post-Standard, also had the tape nearly ten years ago, but declined to report on it. And the Syracuse police department was also informed about the sex abuse allegations in 2002. According to CNN, “Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick has harshly criticized Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler and Deputy Chief Sean Broton over the handling of a 2002 probe of Fine that began with Davis’ allegation.”
In the tape, the woman described as Mrs. Fine says to Mr. Davis, “It’s just wrong and you were a kid…” But, sadly, if it is Mrs. Fine, and these molestations occurred, she did nothing to prevent it and that is pitiful.
As 2011 comes to a close, sex abuse skeletons are falling from universities’ closets, and that’s a good thing
