Fine allegations : Allred unhappy with SU’s decision to withhold 2005 investigation report
UPDATE: June 13, 2011, 12:38 p.m.
CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, the chairman of the Board of Trustees was misidentified. The chairman of the board is Richard Thompson. The Daily Orange regrets this error.
Attorney Gloria Allred is critical of Syracuse University for not releasing the report of a 2005 investigation into child molestation allegations against Bernie Fine.
‘We find it remarkable that the University still has failed to issue any statement regarding what they knew and did not know,’ Allred, an attorney for Bobby Davis, said in an email.
She said by withholding the report against the former men’s basketball associate head coach, SU promoted a code of silence that stirred ‘feelings of shame in victims to protect perpetrators.’
The investigative report, released Sunday by The Post-Standard, looks into Davis’ claim that Fine molested Davis, a former SU ball boy.
Allred said the university has vigorously fought efforts to have Davis’ allegations against Fine examined in a court of law. She criticized SU for refusing to not only release the report, but for not informing lawyers on the 2005 investigation process.
‘They have refused even to share the 2005 report with us or to inform us about what steps they have taken over the past seven months (and counting) to investigate the 2005 inquiry,’ she said.
Fine was fired from the university in November. He has denied all wrongdoing and has not been charged.
On behalf of Richard Thompson, chairman of SU’s Board of Trustees, senior vice president for public affairs Kevin Quinn said a Special Committee of the Board of Trustees is undertaking a thorough review of SU’s 2005 response to Davis’ allegations.
‘The Special Committee will report on its conclusions when its review is complete,’ he said in an email. ‘Until that time, it is not appropriate to comment further.’
The university does not plan on releasing the report, Quinn said, as those interviewed were promised confidentially that it would not be released.
Said Quinn: ‘The report was not intended to be a public document.’
-Managing editor Laurence Leveille contributed reporting to this article.
Published on June 11, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Contact Marwa: meltagou@syr.edu | @marwaeltagouri
