Penn State Sandusky scandal - Page 3

annasdad · 11-06-2011, 05:50 PM

Quote:

State Sen. Jeffrey Piccola wants Penn State’s board of trustees to investigate how two university officials allegedly failed to report alleged child sexual abuse on campus.

The chairman of the state Senate Education Committee suggests university trustees, who hold the ultimate responsibility for the people that Penn State employs, should be just as disturbed as he is about the accusations levied against Jerry Sandusky and conduct their own investigation into the university’s response.

“This is a major blemish on the reputation of Penn State University. This makes recruiting violations look like small potatoes,” said Piccola

Sen. Piccola wants probe of Penn State University officials' alleged inaction | PennLive.com

DonnaL · 11-06-2011, 06:26 PM

I hope that people who haven't read the grand jury report aren't assuming that what's involved here is allegedly consensual sex with college students. To be blunt, what's involved is acts like sodomizing 10-year olds. That's what the graduate assistant saw and reported, and that's what was allegedly covered up.

sevmom · 11-06-2011, 06:28 PM

Agree with Piccola. If this is true, recruiting violations definitely are small potatoes in comparison to the alleged sexual abuse of young boys over the course of many years by an assistant coach. Also agree with a couple of other posters-The grad student who stepped forward was courageous. Paterno and the Penn State football program are legends. Must have been very difficult to ,in effect ,turn a program in and potentially have your own career compromised.. Penn State is a great school and it is sad to see this happening.

rocketman08 · 11-06-2011, 06:34 PM

Saw this on ESPN. Read the Grand Jury's report and it was extremely disturbing.

The obvious crime is Sandusky's alleged serial child abuse--made all the more sick by the fact that he founded a charity to help young at risk boys, which he allegedly used as a steady source of potential victims.

However the whole thing is all the more tragic given the failure of university officials to act upon the information they were allegedly given. Had the administration done what they were legally required to do back in the early 2000s there's a very good chance Sandusky would have been prevented from comiting the alledged further subsequent instances of abuse.

If you read the Grand Jury report we're not exactly talking grey zone material.

It's not like someone just reported up the chain that Sandusky seemed to be a bit too friendly with some of the kids from the charity. Without repeating the graphic details the report alleges that officials were told in no uncertain terms that horrific abuse had occurred.

How they could allegidly fail to act upon that information, especially when Sandusky is clearly seen to continue his close involvement with young boys, is just inexcusable and if the charges are proven in court they should be put behind bars.

In regards to Paterno, he did what he was legally required to do. The incident in question occured in his place of employment and he immediately reported it to his supervisor (the Athletic Director). That said, it does seem odd that he wouldn't have followed up on the issue after nothing of significance happened to Sandusky and he continued to be seen around young boys.

I also find the statement by the university's president to be very odd. The Grand Jury report does not implicate him in any wrongdoing, but there are going to be an awful lot of people wanting to know exactly what he knew and when.

I can't imagine the alumni are terribly happy about all this right now and if the alumni remain unhappy then it's usually only a matter of time before the house gets cleaned out.

annasdad · 11-06-2011, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocketman08

I also find the statement by the university's president to be very odd.

From the article linked above:

Quote:

“A university president defending an indicted employee? I mean, he shouldn’t make any judgment on guilt or innocence. That’s not his role. He needs to distance himself from that,” Piccola said.

chocoholic · 11-06-2011, 06:57 PM

He certainly should NOT be saying this :

“I wish to say that Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have my unconditional support,” Penn State President Graham Spanier said in a statement, which an athletic department official said would be the school’s only comment on the matter. “I have known and worked daily with Tim and Gary for more than 16 years. I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former University employee.”

How about: let's wait and see, let's wait for the legal process, etc.

tom1944 · 11-06-2011, 07:07 PM

I agree everyone should wait for the entire legal process.

charlieschm · 11-06-2011, 07:12 PM

A question was asked above: "Since Schultz (the VP) is in charge of the police I wonder if that is enough to meet the requirement that in sex abuse cases the police must be notified?"

Answer: Definitely no. Schultz was the top administrator who controlled many departments, including the police. However, a complaint must be filed with a police officer or detective, so that a sworn officer or prosecutor can decide whether criminal charges are justified. An administrator's job is to oversee the department, not to make decisions regarding criminal wrong-doing.

annasdad · 11-06-2011, 08:12 PM

Quote:

He certainly should NOT be saying this

I guess when you're the president of a Big 10 school whose football program is 8-1, you figure you can get away with whatever outrageous statement you want to make.

rocketman08 · 11-06-2011, 08:15 PM

Some of the most recent press reports indicate that the lawyers for the two administrators will try to have the 'failure to report' charges thrown out on technicalities--suggesting that the law did not apply to individuals in their particular position.

Regardless, the 'failure to report' was the lesser of the two charges and is only a summary offense.

The most serious charge handed down by the Grand Jury was a felony for perjury.

The report states that the Grand Jury found both administrators to have made materially false statements under oath in regards to exactly what they knew about the 2002 incident.

Joan52 · 11-06-2011, 08:24 PM

Tom -

Although the grad student was 28 and not 22 or 23, as I had initially thought, he was still apparently at the beginning of his career. He was bothered enough to go to his dad and they did take steps to report it up the chain. My understanding is that only "mandated reporters" are required to inform the police, others are to tell their direct supervisors, which it seems the student did. The same situation applies in schools - teachers inform principals and they are supposed to call the police. The grad student is the least culpable person in this scenario but, I would bet, the one who is feeling the most guilt and remorse.

I, too, wonder why Paterno took no steps when he saw that Sandusky was still around, although it seemed as if they banned the young children from the campus so maybe nobody else ever saw anything again.

Regardless, it's a horrible situation all around.

juniebug · 11-06-2011, 09:02 PM

Wait a minute. So a 28 year old man witnesses the rape of a 10 year old child, and he doesn't stop it? I find that sickening.

LakeWashington · 11-06-2011, 09:17 PM

Paterno has demonstrated a 'letter of the law but not much interest in it' attitude before. When several of his players stormed a private home a few years ago and beat up and severely injured at least one innocent student, the student's father went to Paterno, who punished by players by making them clean up the stadium. Fairly lame action and no real consequence for the perpetrators.

Consolation · 11-06-2011, 09:39 PM

I'm completely disgusted after reading the grand jury report.

I'm also somewhat confused about the timeline. It seems that Sandusky was quietly removed from the potential succession, and the department, at some point. Was this withint the year after the grad student reported what he had observed to Paterno?

rocketman08 · 11-06-2011, 09:46 PM

Did a bit more reading...

The main incident in question regarding the university administrators occurred in 2002. According to the Grand Jury report in 1998 the university's police conducted an investigation into Sandusky after a victim's parent complained of inappropriate behavior in the shower.

Ultimately the DA would decide against pursing charges and the case was dropped, even though the report states Sandusky admitted, in a conversation "eavesdropped" by a university detective, to showering naked with the child and stating that "I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness." Also in a conversation monitored by the university detective the report states that "Victim 6's mother tried to make Sandusky promise never to shower with a boy again, but he would not."

The exact reasons for not pursuing the case are unclear.

The PA AG's website also states that: "the 1998 report involving Sandusky and boys in the showers was reviewed by University Police and Child Protective Services, with the blessing of Wendell Courtney, who at the time served as University Counsel and was (and remains) counsel to The Second Mile."

The Second Mile is the children's charity that Sandusky founded and the primary source of Sandusky's alleged victims. The Grand Jury did not charge the consul with any wrongdoing, but it's yet another senior official that was allegedly well aware of the serious allegations against Sandusky.

Oddly, the DA that investigated the 1998 allegations would go missing in 2005 and hasn't been seen since.

He was pronounced dead this past summer, but no trace of him was ever found. They found his car and his computer's hard drive, damaged beyond the point of data recovery, at the bottom of the Susquehanna River.

There is no indication that the DA's disappearance and the Sandusky case are in any way linked, but it certainly seems like there are a lot of strange skeletons in closets in Happy Valley.