Paterno Family: "Joe Paterno Did Not Know That Jerry Sandusky Was A Pedophile"

Lots of folks at Penn State are no doubt quaking at the thought of what might be in former FBI director Louis Freeh's investigative report that's scheduled to be released Thursday morning. No one, however, seems more concerned than the family of Joe Paterno.

Paterno's family has issued a pre-emptive statement that basically bellyaches over the fact that they weren't permitted to view the Freeh group's findings in advance, even though Freeh had made it clear from the beginning that no one would see the report until it was made public. The family wanted to "offer information that could help complete the picture." Onward State has published the statement in full, if you want to see it for yourself. But all you need to know is that it contains this paragraph:

Joe Paterno did not cover up for Jerry Sandusky. Joe Paterno did not know that Jerry Sandusky was a pedophile. Joe Paterno did not act in any way to prevent a proper investigation of Jerry Sandusky. To claim otherwise is a distortion of the truth.

Oh? From Paterno's own grand jury testimony in January 2011, which was read into the record during last December's preliminary hearing for two of the PSU administrators charged with perjury and failure to report. Paterno is talking about what then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary told him he had witnessed in the Penn State football building's showers the night before:

Paterno Family Releases Statement on Freeh Report [Onward State] [ Curley-Schultz Preliminary Hearing Transcript]