Posted on 07/01/2012 4:27:42 AM PDT by Zakeet
The Penn State horror story has taken a twist for the sicker.
And Joe Paterno's legacy is now more clearly defined.
E-mails have been uncovered by NBC. Three scared sheep - Penn State's president, vice president and athletic director - were going to alert the real authorities to the possible misdeeds of Jerry Sandusky, until the athletic director spoke with Paterno and persuaded the other two Sheep not to be so rash.
Subsequently, at least four more young boys were molested by Sandusky.
Paterno apparently persuaded the group to go easy on old Jerry. The athletic director, Tim Curley, e-mailed the other Sheep, "If Sandusky is cooperative, we would work with him."
Astounding. The Three Sheep, part of a huge flock of JoPa worshipers, decided that confronting Sandusky rather than turning him in "is a more humane and up-front way to handle this."
More humane, unless you're a 10-year-old kid and Jerry Sandusky is in your driveway a week later, the old Tickle Monster, honking his horn, bearing gifts.
By the way, the "upfront" confrontation with Sandusky apparently consisted of asking the former assistant coach not to bring his little boys on campus anymore. Friendly advice that Sandusky ignored.
Only Paterno knows why he wanted his Three Sheep to call off the dogs. Was it out of compassion for Sandusky, or out of concern that Paterno's program and his legacy might take a hit?
To at least four young victims of abuse, that distinction probably isn't important.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I meant “the subject”, not “the target.”
IIRC, according to Paterno’s own testimony to the grand jury he stated that he reported what McCreary told him to his boss Curely and then had no further involvement. He testified that he assumed his superiors had properly addressed the situation.
However according to these email exchanges, after Paterno made them aware of the allegations, it appears that Curley and Spanier discussed and were leaning toward reporting it to the authorities however after a conversation they had with Paterno, Curley says he no longer wants to contact child welfare authorities just yet - "After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps."
The e-mails suggest that the officials decided that Sandusky could be dealt with by barring him from taking children onto the campus, “encouraging” him to seek professional help and telling no one but officials at the Second Mile Charity, who also apparently did nothing until TSHTF.
Not reporting the accusation to the authorities, the men determined, was the more “humane” way to deal with Sandusky, according to the e-mails.
So what did Paterno say to Curley and Spanier to change their minds about the “next steps”? Why did Paterno lie to the grand jury stating that after he reported to Curley, that he had no further involvement when these emails indicate otherwise?
I’m sorry, but death does not exonerate the deceased from wrong doing.
Ya know what, screw Paterno and his ability to refute these charges. He failed to take proper action for what he admitted to knowing. He was more concerned with his job than the lives of all those boys.
There are more criminals here than Sandusky. He was tried so quickly in yet another attempt to cover up the magnitude of these crimes.
“The important thing, IMHO, is the real perpetrator, Sandusky, has been tried and convicted, and will not be out there to cause such damage to young lives again. The rest of it is sensationalism.”
Really? Your comments peg you as 1) a Liberal and 2) a football fanatic. “Just move along now, nothing more to see!” And then there’s the “really important” stuff (keeping the football program going and absolving “Joe Pa” of any responsibility for his really heinous behavior). And surely, it’s not important to prosecute the rest of the complicit Penn State administration for their roles in allowing Sandusky to “bang” a few more little boys. That Paterno is dead is a gift to him. Personally, I think he escaped being even more exposed than he is already through death. It’s really “tough” that his “legacy” is being “tarnished,” because after all, he is an “athletic hero” and we all know “athletic heros” are above reproach.
You seem to think that there is ONE and ONLY ONE perp.
This sort of stuff doesn't go on very long unless there are quite a few enablers, and in my book, they are just as bad as the perps.
I meant “the subject”, not “the target.”
It’s cute that you call it “Mr.” Where I come from, we don’t grant titles saved for men upon child molester enablers.
Amen to that.
The important thing is those precious little boys, not sports. Sports can be a pleasant distraction, but when you place it above what’s really important, it’s time to step back and take a look at yourself.
He was tried quickly because the case was a slam dunk. The jury came back in like a day on 52 charges. The other cases against management are moving along.
The way it always is when the elites are able to assemble their Patron and Peasant fiefdoms.
All those that knew and did nothing should be prosecuted same as Coach Queerbob.
I agree with you 100% that those “rumors” about him
pimping out the little boys to members of his foundation
could easily turn out to be true.
There is a whole ugly underworld out there - Sandusky
is only one of many.
Sandusky may have committed the acts, but this equally damaging to a young victim .. Their entire sense of protection and trust has been shattered because nobody would help them. They maybe able to say Sandusky was a criminal pervert, but how do they wrap Their minds around a cover up, because those in authority cared more about being humane to Sandusky than them? Sorry, this is just as disgusting. May they lose thei prestige, as they don’t deserve it.
I had been a Paterno defender before but depending on how this actually shakes out, he may be guilty. I really have no idea at this point. It does bother me that he isn’t around to give his side of the story, but that’s life.
It is interesting that even in court McQueary’s testimony was uncertain and they could never decide who he told and what he told them. That was the extent of Paterno’s involvement (or at least we thought it was). Now, these e-mails don’t really give us much information. There is a lot of speculation as to who the word “we” refers to, what Paterno said, and what all the people knew about 1998. We don’t know. We could ask Curley, but as far as Paterno’s legacy that doesn’t matter. He’s dead and his legacy is of no legal consequence.
It would be really nice to have the whole story.
I’ve come to the cynical conclusion that more won’t come out on this although it seems obvious to me there was a whole network of pervs and Sandusky had the highest profile among them. Maybe when reality sinks in (what are the 5 stages of grief, again?) and he accepts his situation, he’ll start talking.
Agree--they were either very naive or in denial because they liked the gifts for the kids
Remember that the Second Mile was a program for disadvantaged and “at risk” kids. The boys who became Sandusky’s victims didn’t exactly come from loving, stable two parent households and that’s why they were easy prey, that’s the kind of thing a pedophile counts on. But there were complaints and concerns raised by some of these kid’s families that fell on deaf ears.
Sandusky met his “adopted’ son through Second Mile and Matt Sandusky became the Sandusky’s foster child before being legally adopted. Matt’s biological mother, Debra Long fought the court system over her son's placement in the Sandusky home. It’s not clear why Matt was removed from his mother’s home but while Matt never told her any details, she knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong, tried to do something about it but her concerns were dismissed as just some “crazy” birth mother objecting to her child’s removal and placement in a foster home.
Records provided to AP by Long in December show that after Matt Sandusky attempted suicide in 1996, his probation officer wrote, "The probation department has some serious concerns about the juvenile's safety and his current progress in placement with the Sandusky family."
Despite those concerns, probation and child welfare officials recommended continued placement with the Sandusky family and the judge overseeing his case agreed. Centre County President Judge Thomas Kistler, who joined the bench in 1997 and was not involved in Matt Sandusky's juvenile case, said he saw "legitimate questions" about the decision to keep Long's son in the Sandusky home, but "I can't shed any light on them."
Speaking generally, he said nearly every birth parent objects when the state decides to remove a child from the home.
"These kinds of decisions made by judges and social workers are very emotionally charged. I don't think the parents have ever agreed with me on any of the cases where I've taken the kids," he said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57461673-504083/jerry-sandusky-case-matt-sanduskys-biological-mom-raised-concerns-about-the-former-psu-coach-as-far-back-as-1994/
And in 1998 the mother of victim number 6 went to the authorities after she found out that Sandusky had been showering naked with her son.
According to Detective Ronald Schreffler's testimony, he and State College Police Department Detective Ralph Ralston, with the consent of the mother of Victim 6, eavesdrop on two conversations the mother of Victim 6 has with Sandusky. Sandusky says he has showered with other boys. When she asks if Sandusky touched her son's genitals, he says, "I don't think so...maybe." The mother tries to make Sandusky promise never to shower with a boy again, but he refuses. She tells Sandusky that he cannot see her son anymore.
According to the testimony of Jerry Lauro, an investigator with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, he and Schreffler interviewed Sandusky, and Sandusky admits to showering naked with Victim 6, to hugging Victim 6 while in the shower and that it was wrong. Schreffler advises Sandusky not to shower with a boy again. Sandusky says he will not. The case is closed after then-Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar decides there will be no criminal charge.
So here was another instance going back to 1998 where a mother of one of these kids was mortified when she learned what was happening, went to the authorities and nothing was done about it.
I wouldn’t be too quick to blame the parent or parents anymore than I would the victims. Remember that some of the victims testified that they were threatened by Sandusky if they ever told the truth, but also some of them were also very “confused” and conflicted by the kindness, the gifts, the trips, the attention they received. On one hand they knew that what was happening to them was wrong or “creepy”, but it was also probably the first time in their young lives anyone did anything “nice” for them too. They were at the time really too young to fully understand and most of them, coming from “bad” homes, they perhaps didn’t know what “normal” was.
The number of people, supposedly responsible adults in positions of authority and trust, who could have done something to stop the abuse, was not just limited to Penn State officials. A whole lot of people let these kids down even when some of the families of Second Mile kids.
Excellent post. Thank you
That could be, but one would think that as many boys as have now provided evidence, that at least one of them would have mentioned any wider ring of pedophiles. But more information could still surface later.
“”After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday”
Ohhhhhh.....somehow I missed this crucial part before.
And that says it all right there doesn’t it?
sigh.
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