valentine

Okay, I've refrained from posting about this, but I think now I will. My former employer was a university. This type of thing happens with some degree of frequency where you have minors and adult staff. There were specific protocols which were followed by ALL supervisory staff, ALL campus police, etc. You may think its easy for someone who has been told such a thing by a minor can just pick up a phone and call the police, yet there are rules and regulations within the institution that employees have to follow whether they like it or not (and parents are told about this and agree to these rules before their little darlings are admitted). There is also protection under the law for those who are accused of molestation, sexual assault, etc. and they are innocent until proven guilty. University employees are summarily fired for calling in outside police until an internal investigation is completed. That's the way it was back when I worked for a University and those rules applied even in the case of rape. We do not know the delicate details of what Paterno did or did not do and it is not up to the court of public opinion to try this man based on the salacious bits and pieces reported by the press.

valentine

One more thing that needs to be borne in mind as well is that we live in a litigious society. Accusations can be made any time and any where, but large institutions need to be certain before they take action that these things can be proven. They face horrendous lawsuits, etc. quite frequently both by staff and students. I'm not saying anyone here was innocent by any means.

A 2

Currently reading the Grand Jury Assessment and am on Page 13. Perhaps this will help some people on here form their conclusions on who is at fault. Please note it has very graphic and disturbing content.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/11/...resentment.pdf

MsPerky

Val, your points would be well taken if the scenario here were the one you are putting forth - that of a minor's word against an adult. This incident in 2002 between Sandusky and the boy was reported in detail to Joe P by the graduate assistant who witnessed it. Joe P referred it to the other two guys who have perjured themselves in front of the grand jury by lying about what they knew and did. There is no evidence Joe P or anyone else at PSU followed up. Sandusky was simply barred from bringing young boys to the athletic facilities again. That was it! So now we have what possibly would have taken place ten years ago - people being fired or worse. And the perp had ten more years to ruin the lives of more little boys. If something happens to convince me that PSU did more than I've heard so far, I'll back off. I'm not holding my breath.

Lainey

Paterno will resign.(at end of season)

Here's one statement from the announcement, "This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more," he said.

I wish you had too, Joe.

Paterno retiring

Edited to add "at end of season" so as not to be accused of "reporting the news in a way to suit their own slanted point of view".

That was not my intent when I posted the above.

Zippy

Thank you for posting this. Most of it has been made public through the news reported here.
Undoubtedly, JoPa will not be charged or found guilty of any crime, as he followed the procedures in place. Jerry Sandusky will have a very miserable life, which he deserves.
Apparently, he seems to be doing a little backpeddle from what he actually testified as noted in the indictment (victim 2, I believe). My point is that Paterno had a moral, ethical obligation to protect the future victims, and no matter what procedures or rules are in place, he had nothing to worry about. The trustees saw in him the ability to raise enormous amounts of money and had he broken protocol, he would have been lauded as a hero at PSU and everywhere else.

WhiteS2k

But isn't this exactly the same as what people are accusing the media of doing (reporting the news in a way to suit their own slanted point of view)? When you phrase it this way, there is a connotation that Paterno is admitting guilt. The truth is that he announced he will retire after the season. The jury is still out on what he knew and when did he know it.

Lainey

I'm not one who is accusing the media of anything in this case. I provided the link so folks could read the entire article. You're the one who chose to take only part of my post and quote it.

I'm not accusing Mr. Paterno of anything, though my own opinion (and everyone is entitled to disagree with me) is that I think he used some pretty bad judgement not following these accusations through, regardless of policy. According to his statement, he himself wishes he had done more. I think that says plenty.

S2KRAY

We recently went through a similar situation in my town. A local pediatrician has been convicted of sexually abusing more than 100 children during the last 20 years. Thats right, 20 years. The case was shown on National TV. It is the single largest abuse of chilren ever in this country. He had an office less than a mile away from where I live and after an investigation by local authorities based on complaints from parents who took their kids to him video evidence was confiscated which graphically showed the sexual abuse he had been committing. I'm talking about infants being raped and other kids being subjected to sexual abuse by this monster that I cannot describe. He is in jail for life with no parole and I am hoping everyday that someone slits his throat in prison. The irony of this case is that several physicians who worked at Beebee hospital where he formally resided in Lewes knew he was a deviant and reported him to authorities at the hospital. No investigation was ever initiated and now that the truth has been uncovered parents have initiated massive law suits against the hospital which will probably bankrupt them. And rightly so IMO! So, should these physicians that reported his behavior be chastised because they should have pursued it further or did they feel they did the right thing by reporting him to their administrators. We live in a sick world and situations like this make me have a lot less faith in people we place our trust in.

Lainey

^
Yes they should be chastised. "First do no harm." Isn't that part of the oath the doctors take? I'm not suggesting they face charges, however this system is terribly broken if a doctor can report abuse and the administrators take it no further. Stop with the CYA and go above the basta## who are trying to cover things up. When did colleges, universities and medical establishments become above the law? Why would they think they don't need to call in the legal authorities? Child abuse is to reported BY LAW.

Dirty little secrets such as these are never really totally secret. Once the news comes out, other parties come forward as well. They either knew what was going on, or possibly were victims of the perp and were either afraid to report the offense, or reported it and were dismissed.

Sorry, but I can't give any of the parties a pass on this mess.

I'll humbly eat some crow if it turns out that many innocent people are being wrongly vilified here, but my gut tells me that is not the case.