Collateral Consequences Of A Sex Crime Conviction

The Jerry Sandusky sexual assault scandal at Penn State University has resulted in a fall from grace for a storied football program, a legendary coach and coaching staff and severe penalties and sanctions for those involved. Just today, the NCAA announced that it is fining the Nittany Lions $60 million for the sex crimes coverup and banning the football team from postseason play for 4 years, among others.

The Big10 Conference echoed the necessity for strong action against a Penn State Administration that was revealed to have deep involvement in the sex crimes scandal. For the next four years, Penn State will lose its share of tv revenue from post season play by member schools.

These are civil penalties that have been handed out by different agencies to which the Happy Valley, PA football team belonged. Collateral consequences to sex crimes are not uncommon and although they don’t typically reach the magnitude of what we’re seeing at Penn State, there are more than just criminal penalties (prison and fines) to deal with when convicted of a sex crime.

Sex crime accusations themselves can serve to punish someone even before he or she has their day in court. Public opinion comes down strong against alleged sex offenders and does so very quite quickly. Once convicted and branded as a sex offender, after release from prison, the restrictions and stigma placed on registered sex offenders can make finding a home difficult and finding a job next to impossible.

We’ve previously posted about Sandusky own criminal penalties after he was convicted on multiple counts of sex offenses during his tenure on the Penn State coaching staff.

Source: Fox News, “Penn State fined $60M, Paterno’s wins vacated from 1998-2011,” July 23, 2012