Kekst and Company is handling Penn State’s probe into the alleged sex abuse by the former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Jeffrey Taufield, managing director of the Publicis Groupe property, told O’Dwyer’s the work is for the “special committee of the Pennsylvania State University board of trustees that is investigating the university’s actions with regard to the allegations of child abuse.”

Kekst’s Penn State team includes Tom Davies, Jeremy Fielding and Jim Fingeroth.

Penn State’s full board of directors turned to Omnicom’s Ketchum for PR counsel when news of the allegations became national headlines, leading to the firing of football head coach Joe Paterno and resignation of president Graham Spanier.

Kenneth Frazier, Merck CEO, is the trustee who heads the special committee. The committee has hired the firm of former FBI director Louis Freeh to probe the abuse and the way the allegations were handled by the university.

Sandusky faces criminal charges for allegedly assaulting eight boys over 15 years. He claims innocence.

Kekst also worked Ohio State University’s crisis surrounding the memorabilia-for-cash scandal that triggered the fall of its revered football coach Jim Tressel.