VIDEO-Sandusky Case Bombshell: Did 6 Penn State Coaches Witness Abuse? - NBC News
Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, center, leaves the Centre County Courthouse after a hearing of arguments on his request for an evidentiary hearing in Bellefonte, Pa., Monday, May 2, 2016. Gene J. Puskar / AP
In addition to the four assistants detailed by sources, court papers made public this week point to two more coaches who allegedly witnessed what was described as "inappropriate" or "sexual" contact between Sandusky and children in 1987 and 1988.
Those same documents also revealed that a child allegedly told Joe Paterno he was molested by Sandusky in 1976 — 25 years earlier than Paterno acknowledged hearing about Sandusky in a shower with a child.
Those papers are tied to a legal dispute between Penn State and an insurance company over who should pay the university's share of $60 million in settlements to 26 victims, and the court was not required to verify the allegations.
Asked about the four coaches detailed by NBC's sources, Penn State released
a written statement."The university is facing and has faced a number of litigation matters and claims related to the Sandusky events. Allegations of various kinds have been made, and will likely continue to be made," it said.
"The university does not speculate publicly or hypothesize about individual allegations. These are sensitive matters, and we want to be respectful of the rights of all individuals involved. It would be inappropriate to do otherwise."
Sandusky, 72, recently petitioned for a new trial.
Paterno died of lung cancer in 2012, months after being fired as head coach amid allegations he knew about Sandusky's abuse and failed to act.
His family is hitting back at the claim that he knew about Sandusky's crimes back in 1976.
"Because of a single sentence in a court record of an insurance case, Joe Paterno's reputation has once again been smeared with an unsubstantiated, forty year old allegation," the family said in a written statement.
"Over the past four and a half years, numerous allegations that were taken as fact when they were initially communicated have been proven false. It is in this context that the latest claim should be viewed."
Penn State said it could not comment on the allegation that a child told Paterno he had been abused.
"The university has no records from the time to help evaluate the claims. More importantly, Coach Paterno is not here to defend himself. Penn State does not intend to comment further, out of concern for privacy, and due to the strict confidentiality commitments that govern our various settlement agreements."