Penn State Child Rape Case

I know many of you are probably not up on college football, but this has gone way beyond sports. I've been keeping up with the case, and it just becomes more disgusting and insane the deeper you dig. Even though not all of this is proven yet in a court of law, you can't read the grand jury report and come to the conclusion that nothing horrible happened.

Basically, Jerry Sandusky was the second most important person (defensive co-ordinator) in one of the biggest college sports programs in the country (Penn State football) back in 1998. He coerced an 11-year-old boy into showering with him (on campus), and this included inappropriate touching. The boy's mother suspected something, so she contacted campus police. Sandusky admitted that the incident was true to both the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and to the campus police, but no charges were filed. Incredibly, the only action against Sandusky that was taken was that a campus detective "advised Sandusky not to shower with boys on campus again".

Sandusky would retire early the next year under suspicious circumstances, suggesting that this incident was the reason, even though the head coach (Joe Paterno) and the athletic director (Tim Curly) said they didn't know about the incident. Sandusky continued his association with the football program, even having keys to all of the facilities and being at practice, etc. Sandusky was now devoted to his charity "The Second Mile", which assists underprivileged boys in the state of Pennsylvania. and the charity was also associated with the football program (the kids could attend games and practices, etc.).

Basically, Sandusky used his charity as a farm system for child rape, including about 40 counts in the current indictment, and there have been at least another 10-12 victims that have come forward in the last couple weeks. All told, The Second Mile served nearly 40,000 boys since its inception, so the number of victims is only going to increase, with the majority of victims probably being too ashamed to even come forward. The rape label is applied not merely because of their age; he used every tactic to have unwanted sex with these boys, short of violent force. There are now rumors being investigated that several of the wealthiest donors were giving to the charity so that Sandusky could supply them with boys to rape.

Amazingly, many people in the program knew about this to some degree and did nothing to stop it, including the now wide receiver coach and Joe Paterno and the athletic director and the head of campus police and possibly many more. People covered it up to avoid hurting the program and hurting their careers. Sandusky was an honored friend of the program and had access to the facilities up until two weeks ago. Penn State football is very insular and very lucrative, and they were allowed to police themselves, and this is what happens.

Another disturbing thing I've noticed is that many Penn State football fans get angry when it is suggested that anyone but Sandusky did something wrong, or that there is a structural and cultural problem with the program. Just go visit a Penn State football forum, where fans suggest that ESPN is putting some blame upon Paterno just because they hate Penn State football. Several of these fans rioted when it was announced that Paterno was fired. They defend the team come hell or high water, whether a game or systematic child rape. Like the Catholic church harboring child rapists, Paterno was the pope, the football program was the church, and most of the followers will turn a blind eye to anything.

Here is a summary and a copy of the grand Jury report. The actual report is one of the creepiest things you'll ever read, especially the account of the last victim. On top of this indictment, there are many more victim charges on the horizon, and civil lawsuits, and the National Board of Education is getting involved. Other states are beginning to get involved since he took several victims out of state to attend football games, and this interstate factor will hopefully inspire the Feds to get involved. Of course, the NCAA has done nothing so far, probably because of the amount of money that is at stake, but possibly because they have no protocol for this kind of thing. Meanwhile, Sandusky is out on an unsecured $100,000 bail due to his "good standing in the community", which means that his bail is waived if he shows up to court on time. He has been seen out and about with his wife not far from campus, wearing Penn State gear. What a fucking piece of shit, and what a diseased system to allow this to happen.

Sorry, I needed to vent. Let the fun around here resume.