Penn State Sandusky scandal

Parent Cafe
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<p>One big part of the problem is Pennsyvania’s current statute of limitations: victims must press charges by the time they’re 30.</p>

<p>[Pa</a>. statute of limitations for abuse victims should be altered | PennLive.com](<a href=“http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/05/abuse_victims_statute_of_limit.html]Pa”>Pa. statute of limitations for abuse victims should be altered - pennlive.com)</p>

<p>So abusers can just “wait it out” and get off scot-free. According to the article there’s a proposal to change that to age 50, but that probably wouldn’t help Sandusky’s earliest victims.</p>

<p>Spanier’s attorneys are trying to intimidate the district attorney into not filing charges, saying there isn’t “a scintilla of evidence” against him. Really? Who do they think is going to believe Spanier’s current defense that he knew nothing–nada–about 1998 and thought man-on-boy naked showering alone at night was nothing other than horseplay?</p>

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<p>The arrogance of the trustees is staggering. Here is another one suggesting all direct their ire at the NCAA.</p>

<p>[Trustee</a> Joel Myers: Direct Your Ire at the NCAA - Onward State](<a href=“http://onwardstate.com/2012/08/23/trustee-joel-myers-direct-your-ire-at-the-ncaa/]Trustee”>Trustee Joel Myers: Direct Your Ire at the NCAA | Onward State)</p>

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<p>^ Joel Myers is clueless.</p>

<p>Spanier’s defense is totally ridiculous. Why would “horse play” or “horsing around” even come to his attention? Any why would there be any “vulnerabilities” regarding snapping towels? “Mr. President: An incident of horseplay (towel snapping) has occurred in university showers that requires your attention!” Total BS!</p>

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<p>^^^
Yes. And then the state would, of course, investigate this towel snapping and penalize PSU for not reporting these shenanigans to the proper authorities!</p>

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<p>In what will probably be one of many, “Victim 1” in the Sandusky trial has filed a lawsuit against Penn State, alleging “negligence, fraudulent concealment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.”</p>

<p>[APNewsBreak:</a> Sandusky victim sues Penn State over ‘shameful’ handling of child abuse claims | StarTribune.com](<a href=“http://www.startribune.com/sports/167402905.html]APNewsBreak:”>http://www.startribune.com/sports/167402905.html)</p>

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<p>Not one mention of Sandusky or the abused kids in the email from the trustee. Perhaps he’s forgotten already? “The NCAA was just so meeeean to us, and we can’t figure out whyyy! So please send them spam and death threats!”</p>

<p>I wonder if these people know how appalling this looks to the outside world. I hope the NCAA finds a way to revise their punishment and give them the death penalty.</p>

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<p>Let’s see what Joel Myers says about the victims’ lawsuits against Penn State.</p>

<p>I hadn’t seen this letter from Spanier to the BOT; 14 paragraphs filled with his bs, and in the last sentence he mentions the victims. </p>

<p><a href=“http://onwardstate.com/2012/07/23/espn-obtains-spanier-letter-to-board-of-trustees/[/url]”>http://onwardstate.com/2012/07/23/espn-obtains-spanier-letter-to-board-of-trustees/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I believe my record as president of Penn State speaks for itself. Together, we accomplished a great deal of good during my 16-year presidency of Penn State. Yet I find myself excoriated by the Freeh report and individual trustees speaking negatively of me in public. My reputation has been profoundly damaged.</p>

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<p>“My reputation has been profoundly damaged.”</p>

<p>No one to blame but himself for that!</p>

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<p>Sounds like Spanier is teeing it up to sue Penn State for damaging his reputation. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?</p>

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<p>WOW, Spanier’s letter has 1517 words in 18 paragraphs w/ only one sentence (* I write you with sincere respect, with a heavy heart for the children who were victimized by Sandusky, and with regret for the difficult challenges ahead for this great University.*) expressing concern for the victims.</p>

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<p>And not even a full sentence. Twelve words.</p>

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<p>If nothing else, Spanier’s latest communications make it easier to understand how he coud have reacted as he did back in 2001. He really DOESN’T care about abuse victims; he’s just all about himself.</p>

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<p>It was interesting to note that only 17% of those polled approved of the Gov Corbett’s handling of the Sandusky investigation (while AG). It seems many people in PA think he manipulated the situation for political benefit.</p>

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<p>Spanier, who hasn’t responded to requests for an Associated Press interview, told ABC that the 2001 case was only characterized as “horseplay.”</p>

<p>But even that should have raised red flags, said Mary Gray, an American University math and statistics professor with an expertise in university governance.</p>

<p>“If he was told that, I would think if I was the university president, I would ask, ‘What do you mean by horsing around?’” said Gray. “He should have assigned somebody to look into this in more detail and get back to him.”</p>

<p>“I cannot imagine not having, what shall we say, the curiosity to want to know what the devil is going on and to be sure the university’s interests are protected,” Trachtenberg said. “It shows to me, at minimum, a gross lack of curiosity, sort of almost a willful ignorance.”</p>

<p>[Experts</a> question Graham Spanier ’s ‘I didn’t know’ defense - BostonHerald.com](<a href=“http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view.bg?articleid=1061155459&format=&page=2&listingType=colfb#articleFull]Experts”>http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view.bg?articleid=1061155459&format=&page=2&listingType=colfb#articleFull)</p>

<p>much of what many of us have been saying, Spanier’s claims don’t pass the common sense test.</p>

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He didn’t need to have any curiosity because the fact is that he what he was told was NOT about horseplay. He was told the same thing that Paterno was told. Does anyone really believe that Paterno knew that McQueary saw Sandusky raping a little boy but Spanier was told it was horseplay? It’s foolishness. It wasn’t lack of curiosity or willful ignorance. It was outright negligence and criminal conspiracy, IMO.</p>

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<p>^completely agree. I am astounded at how little attention has been paid to Spanier, and while I hold Paterno accountable for his own actions and role, the focus on Paterno has certainly diverted attention away from Spanier. And honestly, as I’ve said before, it was in Spanier’s control as president to handle this properly. I don’t blame Paterno for the final decision, no matter how much he influenced everything at Penn State, Spanier remained the president. I don’t like how Spanier’s interviewers didn’t press the issue further. I would have gone after him when he feigned innocence. He needs to be indicted.</p>

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<p>JoePa was, for all intensive purposes, the President of the University. And his likely knowledge of the former Professor Emeritus’ predilections predates Spanier by a very long way. Spanier had no dealings with Gricar, and apparently little in the way of dealings with Second Mile, funding for the child sex trafficking, and, perhaps, not much to do with Corbett’s a-hem investigation. </p>

<p>But he remains a very well-remunerated professor in the so-called college of health and human development, and still gets his books (if he’s ever in town) from the JoePa library.</p>

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<p>Mini-- I get all that. But you seem to be saying Spanier is somehow less accountable than Paterno? I don’t see it that way…no matter Paterno’s heavy handed power, Spanier WAS president and the buck should have stopped with him. If Paterno was out of control, it was Spanier’s job to veto him. </p>

<p>Sent from my MB865 using CC</p>

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<p>myturnnow, we don’t have to rely on common sense to believe that Spanier knew this was more than “horseplay.” We have his own words in an email. He wrote about “vulnerabilities” and was in on the initial plan to turn Sandusky over to authorities. Those statements make no sense in the context of innocent man-on-boy fun. I wish someone would ask him about that email. I’d love to see him twist himself into pretzels trying to put a benevolent spin on it.</p>

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<p>Spanier claims he failed to investigate McQ’s allegations in 2001 because he was told Sandusky was just “horsing around” w/ young boys in the PSU showers. Well, how does he explain his lack of action after the DA notified PSU they were investigating Sandusky? </p>

<p>Surely, someone concerned about the welfare of children would be horrified that he had been initially mislead and take swift action to at least investigate if there is any merit to the DA’s investigation. As far as I know Spanier has never used his position and power as PSU’s president to investigate/confront/stop Sandusky. How does he explain that?</p>