Penn State Scandal and the end of Joe Paterno

[rasputin]

Cool Moe, the cult of personality is a strong force to the weak.

 

[FreezerBoy]

I hadn't known about abuse reports dating back to 98. I gave Paterno the benefit of the doubt when all I knew of was one unbelievable story from one unbelievable source. If Paterno was aware of previous reports, that changes things.

 

[SpasticGramps]

That's why Sandusky resigned in 1999. Joe Pa knew about it back then and the rapist was still allowed to be around the team and school.

Something is very very wrong here. Birds of feather flock together. Just sayin'.

 

[THE PABLOS]

...lol...fuck joe paterno...that dude should have been retired 30 (ok 20 then) yrs ago. Dirty secrets. Dirty fucker. Nice way to leave a legacy...child ass fucking coverup. No quarter for that old fool.

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Something is being overlooked here. I'm not that surprised, because it's America. I am appalled at the relative inaction of those close to the incident. They could have protested harder and louder. But what about those higher up who received the reports and tried to cover it up? It's always those lower down the ladder who get scapegoated when the shit hits the fan. And underlings also know what happens to whistle blowers. Make waves and your career is over. The situation is deplorable, and I'm not excusing it. But let's portion out some of this condemnation for the law enforcement officers and university executive officers who helped sweep this under the rug.

 

[SpasticGramps]

A Patriot-News Special Report: Who knew what about Jerry Sandusky? There were many missed chances to investigate as early as 1995

The Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case has already cost the jobs of football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier. State and federal investigators continue to unravel the case and might bring additional charges.

More than one tip has already come into the tipline that police have set up for potential victims.

But in the end, it’s going to come down to credibility. Stories contradict each other. Grand jury testimony clashes.

Who was telling the truth? Who was trying to keep the truth silent?

And what part did that silence play in the fact that Sandusky is alleged to have sexually assaulted young boys for 10 years after the first boy stepped forward?

In early 2010, before The Patriot-News broke the story of the Sandusky investigation, the newspaper confronted Spanier and asked him if he was aware of a grand jury investigation into Sandusky. His answer was no.

By his own testimony before the grand jury, Spanier knew as early as 2002 that Sandusky and a young boy had been witnessed “horsing around” by a staff member in the locker room of the football building.

It’s not clear if Spanier also knew about a six-week investigation by his university’s police force that centered around similar touching in a shower in 1998 that never led to charges.

However, now-resigned Vice President Gary Schultz, who was in charge of the campus police in 1998 and in 2002, did know about both reports, and in his grand jury testimony, he acknowledged that they were similar — they both involved young boys and allegations of sexual misconduct in a shower at the football building.

Right now, the case against Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley — both charged with perjury and failure to report a crime — hinges mainly on the word of that eyewitness, then-graduate student Mike McQueary. McQueary is now a Penn State assistant football coach.

McQueary is a guy who once stepped in and broke up a player-related knife fight in a campus dining hall — a fight police admit could have been very ugly. But this week, he is getting blasted by the public for doing too little.

That same public sentiment led to an abrupt exit for legendary coach Paterno and Spanier.

But if gossip, rumor and speculation have been rampant this week about Spanier, Paterno and McQueary, the facts are more complicated — and much more disturbing.

EARLY CONCERNS

The earliest documented report of possible abuse at the hands of Sandusky is in 1995, when his now-legally adopted son was still a teenage foster child in his home.

The adoption file for Matt Sandusky, who had a different name at the time, contains letters of concern from his mother to children and youth officials and to a Centre County judge.

Matt’s biological mother, Debra Long, testified before the grand jury.

Matt, 33, is not one of the victims in the grand jury presentment, but he did testify before the grand jury.

Sandusky’s attorney, Joe Amendola, said Long is upset with Sandusky for helping her son and her allegations are not based in fact. Matt went to live with the Sandusky family after he was caught setting fire to a barn in 1995.

Children and Youth Services placed him with the Sandusky family at Jerry Sandusky’s request. He knew Matt through The Second Mile.

In his book, “Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story” several pages are devoted to Matt.

“He became an instant challenge for me,” Sandusky writes.

Debra Long was allowed to visit her son only one-half day per month after he went to live with the Sanduskys.

About four months after he went to live with Jerry, Matt attempted suicide with a girl who was also staying at Sandusky’s house.

“The probation department has some serious concerns about the juvenile’s safety and his current progress in placement with the Sandusky family,” wrote Terry L. Trude, a school-based probation officer, days after the suicide attempt.

The letter, addressed to Centre County Judge David Grine, also said Long was concerned about Matt’s safety and mental condition, and asked that Matt go to a different foster family.

Trude finally recommended that Matt’s placement in the Sandusky house be reviewed within two months.

The night of the suicide attempt, Matt wrote a letter to the probation officer dealing with his case.

It read, in part: “I would like to be placed back with the Sanduskys. I feel that they have supported me even when I have messed up. They are a loving caring group of people. I love both my biological family and the Sandusky family.”

The day Jerry Sandusky was arrested, Matt brought his kids over to Jerry’s house. The mother of Matt’s children almost immediately went to court to prevent future visits. A judge’s order now prevents Sandusky from having unsupervised contact or overnight visits with his grandchildren.

THE FIRST VICTIM TO ASK FOR HELP

The travesty and tragedy of botched attempts to investigate Jerry Sandusky began in 1998.

Though the grand jury indictment includes four previous victims, an 11-year old boy in 1998 was the first to come forward. He is called Victim Six in the grand jury presentment.

The boy told police that Sandusky had showered naked with him. A second boy was in the showers at the time, but did not testify before the grand jury.

Ray GricarView full sizeAP Photo/Centre Daily Times, Nabil K. Mark, 2005Former Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar
Then-Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar set up a sting in the mother’s home. Sandusky had requested to meet with the mom, and Gricar had officers hide in another room and listen to their conversation.

One of those officers was Detective Ron Schreffler, the lead investigator in the case.

According to the presentment, Sandusky asked the mom for forgiveness.

“I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness from you. I know I won’t get it from you. I wish I were dead,” Sandusky said.

Gricar knew the results of the sting before he made his decision not to prosecute.

The Centre County Office of Children and Youth Services also was investigating that case.

Investigator Jerry Lauro said this week he didn’t feel there was enough evidence for abuse charges solely based on interviews with the boys.

“At that time, the information that we had wasn’t sufficient enough to substantiate a case,” Lauro said. “I don’t want [the mother)] to think we didn’t believe their kid back then. We did, but we didn’t have enough.”

Lauro said Schreffler never told him the details of Sandusky’s confession at the victim’s house.

“I remember my last conversation with him concerning him hiding in that room,” Lauro said. “He didn’t tell me details. All he said was, ‘There’s nothing to it — we’re going to close our case.’ And I said, ‘That’s fine, I’m going to close my case, too.”

They never had another call regarding Sandusky, Lauro said.

Gricar disappeared suddenly in 2005. He remained missing and was declared dead earlier this year. Tony Gricar, family spokesman, said his uncle had developed a “bitter taste” for the football program and Paterno.

“So, I wouldn’t imagine he’d give favorable treatment to anyone associated with the team for any reason,” he said.

Schreffler has repeatedly declined to comment on the case.

According to the presentment, Lauro testified that he and Schreffler interviewed Sandusky. Sandusky admitted hugging the boy in the shower and admitted it was wrong, Lauro testified.

WHAT JANITORS SAY THEY SAW

Another golden opportunity to report and investigate Sandusky for child sexual abuse came just two years later, in 2000.

A group of janitors were cleaning the locker rooms late at night in the Penn State football building.

One of them, Jim Calhoun, witnessed Sandusky in a shower performing a sex act on a young boy who was pinned up against a wall, according to the grand jury report.

A second janitor, Ronald Petrosky, witnessed a boy leaving hand in hand with Sandusky after Petrosky heard the shower running.

The grand jury presentment calls them Victim Two and Victim Eight.

Calhoun approached Petrosky, crying and very upset. He told Petrosky what he’d seen and said it was something he would never forget.

The article goes on and on. Wow just wow. Institutional failure and institutional corruption. Seems to be a common theme these days.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Something is being overlooked here. I'm not that surprised, because it's America. I am appalled at the relative inaction of those close to the incident. They could have protested harder and louder. But what about those higher up who received the reports and tried to cover it up? It's always those lower down the ladder who get scapegoated when the shit hits the fan. And underlings also know what happens to whistle blowers. Make waves and your career is over. The situation is deplorable, and I'm not excusing it. But let's portion out some of this condemnation for the law enforcement officers and university executive officers who helped sweep this under the rug.

Damn....what the hell does America have to do with over looking something? Please explain that...

This crime has the entire country in an uproar, I believe there will be no hiding for anybody involved, there will be almost certain dire consequences for anybody that lies to protect their friends who have been involved with this case. That includes law enforcement and university officials and even wealthy, well connected citizens. This case has a gargantuan magnifying glass trained on it...

In regards to trying to understand how something like this can even happen, how the guy who witnessed the rape could be so passive in his response, and how others down the line didn't do the right thing, I went looking...

A term that seems to fit this situation is "The Unresponsive Bystander," and there have been some famous cases. The most famous is the Kitty Genovese case, where a woman was murdered on a street in NY City and after it happened it was learned that there were 38 people who witnessed the crime, AS IT WAS HAPPENING, and not one of them called the police to report it. After studying this unresponsive bystander problem, it seems that when groups of people are involved in observing a crime, it is more likely that nobody will intervene because they assume somebody else who is observing it will certainly be intervening in some way.

Obviously, this doesn't fit well with the initial witness who saw the Sandusky rape, he knew he was alone and there was nobody else to help the victim. But, as you go down the line, and more people were informed about the crime, the similarities with the unresponsive "group bystander" becomes more applicable. The larger the number of people who became informed of this crime, the greater the chance that these people may have felt that somebody else would be doing the intervention.

We all can assume that we would do the right thing in these kind of situations, because we all think we are morally and ethically strong enough to do the right thing. Unfortunately, human nature tells us different, when it gets studied impersonally and our egos get eliminated from the equation.

I'm not in any way excusing what happened here, or saying blame should not be cast on the fuckers who let this happen and continued the cover up. Just trying to understand what part of human nature makes this kind of thing possible.

If anybody is interested in reading up on this, you should google "unresponsive bystander."

 

[FreezerBoy]

And underlings also know what happens to whistle blowers.

This is the part I just can't wrap my head around. How do you balance a stupid gig with a child's life? There's nothing to balance or even consider. A gig is a gig, a child is irreplaceable.

Like McQueary (the witness) I know exactly what it's like to realize your childhood dream and work in a field you idolize for an organization you love. Had I seen my boss, or my childhood hero, or a co-worker raping a child, I'd beat him to death, call the cops, alert the parents... contacting the company would be the last call I made.

If that cost me the dream gig of a lifetime, good! It wasn't a gig worth having.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Article from the NY Times today, here are the first few paragraphs:

Abuse Inquiry Set Tricky Path for a Governor
By JO BECKER

For months, Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania had reason to suspect a sexual abuse scandal was going to explode at Penn State University. He also had no way to talk about it, or to prepare for it.

Mr. Corbett, as state attorney general, had begun an investigation in 2009 into allegations that a former Penn State assistant football coach had abused young boys, and that university officials might have covered up the scandal. He had convened a grand jury, and his prosecutors had taken testimony. But when he ran for governor, and even after he took office, he was obligated to keep the investigation secret, even as he saw the university officials at the center of the investigation doing little to address the substance of the inquiry.

“He was upset about the inaction,” said Kevin Harley, who worked with Mr. Corbett in the attorney general’s office and is now his press secretary. “He knew what witnesses were going to the grand jury even though he was running for governor. So then he became governor, and he knew at some point that this day would be coming. He just didn’t know when it would be.”

To read the entire article, here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/s...governor-couldnt-discuss-inquiry.html?_r=1&hp

 

[Classy@Home]

If I knew someone found about about my kid getting molested, and DIDN'T call leo right away, the only firing taking place would be a slug into their fucking brains...

There is a classic video about a father that waited in an airport, standing at a pay phone, until the fool that kidnapped/molested his little kid was led past.

Dad drops the phone, pulls out handgun, and blows molesters brains into jelly, sprayed all over carpet.

Then Dad drops gun - surrenders - to be a hero in my mind (and many other parents around the world).

Worth it - absolutely...

 

[SpasticGramps]

The sick fucker even had an ice cream named after him.

Penn State Creamery pulls Jerry Sandusky ice cream off shelves, menus

The Penn State Creamery has removed the "Sandusky Blitz" ice cream flavor, named after former PSU assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, from its shelves and online menu, the Daily Collegian first reported Tuesday.

Prior to the flavor's removal from the creamery website, The Big Lead got a screen grab of the ingredients. Sandusky Blitz was described as a "banana-flavored ice cream with chocolate-covered peanuts and caramel swirl."

Though creamery staff wouldn't comment specifically to the Daily Collegian, the timing of the flavor's removal coincides with charges of sex crimes against minors filed against Sandusky last weekend.

 

[paladin420]

The more I hear about this..The more I see on the news about the students there...I say shut that whole mother fucker down...No More Penn State Period...

 

[JJScorpio]

This shows just how big College football is. Division one colleges bank millions of dollars yearly from TV rights, home games and school related gear. It's big, big business......

What this boils down to is money. Penn State officials knew if this came out they would lose millions. As for McQueary, he traded his silence for a gig coaching at a Division one college. He belongs in jail. I'm sure his coaching career is over. Instead he'll get paid millions for interviews and probably write a book. Next to Sandusky, I find McQueary the next most disgusting human being.

I could go on forever but this crap gets sicker by the day. These people gave a shit less about these kids. They only cared about what they could get from it. There's something I'd like to give them all........ As for the students that are rioting in anger, what a bunch of losers. I hope someday they realize how these kids suffered. But I doubt they will....

 

[Darkstarlive]

Sandusky started the Second Mile charity back in 1977, this this could go all the way back to then.

If you have the stomach for it, here is the Grand Jury findings.
Disgusting, just disgusting.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/feature?section=news&id=8421115

 

[greenmatter]

Sandusky started the Second Mile charity back in 1977, this this could go all the way back to then.

If you have the stomach for it, here is the Grand Jury findings.
Disgusting, just disgusting.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/feature?section=news&id=8421115

three pages was enough ....... burn him at the stake! and anyone who knew has just become a "non human being" in my eyes. how could anyone make the decision to just look away from a situation like that? that goes way beyond criminal!

Sandusky use to take this kid to church ....? what ???? i hope there is a god,and i hope that if i am made in his image that he thinks like me, and i hope he has one nasty tequila buzz on when these fucks show up at the gates ....... " yo peter, lemme' borrow those pliers for the rest of eternity ...... this one is mine"

 

[GP73LPC]

it's reported Penn State makes $6,000,000 a weekend just on ticket sales, souvenirs, parking and concessions...

 

[GP73LPC]

Next to Sandusky, I find McQueary the next most disgusting human being.

McQueary needs to go, the University is not gonna be able to recover with him still on staff...

 

[Hold Your Fire]

I really hope Sandusky gets what's coming to him, in prison.
He will probably be protected, tho'.

 

[GP73LPC]

jeffrey dahmer was protected to, but they got to him

 

[KSP]

I'm just wondering why the janitors and the assistant coach, when they witnessed these rapes, didn't they just beat the living hell out of Sandusky? Wtf?