Jerry Sandusky scandal has cost Penn State $16.8 million, so far

It has cost Penn State almost $17 million in fees alone to deal with the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal, and the tab is expected to grow by tens of millions of dollars before the meter stops clicking.

Sandusky, who is reportedly writing a book while in jail awaiting sentencing on 45 charges that he sexually abused boys, is a former defensive football coach at Penn State. Some of the abuse took place in the shower room of the university’s football training facility, where Sandusky would take boys who were clients of the charity he started.

According to a post on a university website, the school spent almost $16.8 million through June 30 on legal fees, consultants and public relations experts dealing with the Sandusky case. The university will also have to pay a $60-million fine levied by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn., the governing body for college sports, and what many lawyers expect will be millions of dollars more to the victims of Sandusky’s abuse. At least three suits have been filed and more are expected.

The biggest expenditure so far -- about $10 million -- was for internal investigations and crisis communication. That cost includes the $6.5 million to Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan for the investigation by former FBI director Louis Freeh, which found that the university and late football coach Joe Paterno failed to protect the children who were abused. The university has accepted the Freeh recommendations.

The university has also paid more than $1.5 million to defend former top officials who face criminal charges in connection with Sandusky the scandal. Former senior vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley face perjury charges for failing to report the abuse. The cost is expected to increase if the perjury case goes to trial, scheduled for January.

The expenditure also includes money to defend former university president Graham Spanier, who does not face any criminal charges. Spanier and Paterno were forced out of their posts because of the scandal.

The university, in a Web posting, said it was required to defend its former officials. The university bylaws require the expenditures “in connection with any actual or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding, civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or other.”

Nearly $4 million went for university legal services and defense, according to the school.

As part of the punishment, the NCAA set a $60-million fine, imposed a four-year post-season ban on the football team and vacated all Penn State football wins from 1998 through 2011.

The university explained that it would pay the $60-million NCAA fine in five annual installments “that will support initiatives for the prevention and treatment of child abuse, out of football reserves, the deferring of capital and maintenance expenditures, and an internal loan to the Athletic Department. We will not use state or philanthropic money to pay the fine.”

Some of the costs associated with defending the university will be covered by its insurance policy. No money from student tuition, taxpayer funds or donations will be used, the university said. “Legal and other expenses not covered by insurance are expected to be funded from interest revenues related to loans made by the University to its self-supporting units,” the school said.

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michael.muskal@latimes.com