From bad to worse.

The details of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse case are even uglier than initially imagined.

According to Pennlive.com, former Penn State coach Joe Paterno was told by an unnamed child that it was molested by Sandusky in 1976. That new bombshell came to light in an insurance coverage case involving Penn State. The damming line in the report said, “in 1976, a child allegedly reported to PSU’s Head Coach Joseph Paterno that he (the child) was sexually molested by Sandusky.”

That alone is worthy of a double take.

That’s major news considering Paterono’s wife, Sue, has been fighting for her husband’s innocence since he died in 2012.

Pennlive.com also reported that there were instances in 1987 and 1988 in which a different assistant witnessed “inappropriate contact” between Sandusky and unidentified children. The Penn State athletic director was allegedly told of the 1988 incident.

The Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Co. is in court to avoid reimbursing Penn State the $60 million it was forced to pay Sandusky’s victims in the settlement.

Paterno family attorney Wick Sollers issued the following statement disputing the claims:

“Over the past four-and-a-half years Joe Paterno’s conduct has been scrutinized by an endless list of investigators and attorneys.

“Through all of this review there has never been any evidence of inappropriate conduct by Coach Paterno. To the contrary, the evidence clearly shows he shared information with his superiors as appropriate.

“An allegation now about an alleged event 40 years ago, as represented by a single line in a court document regarding an insurance issue, with no corroborating evidence, does not change the facts. Joe Paterno did not, at any time, cover up conduct by Jerry Sandusky.”