Paterno knew Sandusky since he an 18 year old. He thought enough of him to hire him as an assistant coach. They worked together for 30 years and their families were close. Sandusky and his wife Dorothy "Dottie" (née Gross), whom he married in 1966, have six adopted children and took in foster children. One son, Jon Sandusky, is Director of Player Personnel for the Cleveland Browns. Another son, E. J. Sandusky, is an assistant football coach at West Chester University.
I can only imagine how hard it must have been to report Sandusky to this superiors. And I agree that expecting him to vigorously pursue prosecution given their long time personal relationship is a standard that very few can rise to. And I am sure there is an element of denial, especially if Sandusky told him that they were just "horsing around" in the shower. The entire situation is tragic for all concerned, including the victims.
Paterno has led a remarkable and exemplary life and it is a tragedy that his legacy will be stained by Sandusky's conduct.
The other thing I find troubling is how many people apparently don't realize that hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20. Looking backwards it is always easy to see the correct path. Looking forward is not quite so easy.
I worked with a guy for over ten years that I got to know very well. A decade or so after he retired, he was caught exposing himself to children. And apparently had been doing so for a long time.
Many of our mutual friends were mortified, with a tinge of displaced guilt. But why? This guy was the warmest, family oriented, DEEPLY devout Christian of the whole bunch of us. Quite frankly, back in the day if someone had come to me and said he was exposing himself to children, no way would I have believe them. My immediate thought would have been that they had some kind of vendetta against him.
The people that get away with pulling this kind of crap for decades do so for only one reason - they are very, very good at making people NOT suspect them. I am of course sorry for the victims. But as far as guilt goes, I have no clairvoyant powers (if I did I'd be picking lottery numbers right now).
Many people are talking as though this Sandusky guy walked around with a hat that said, "Child Molester." I suspect the situation was much less obvious.