Hide Yo Kids. Paterno/Sandusky Trial/Penn State Megathread

[EmpireWF]

Right now, Paterno has plenty of questions to answer (regardless of the law), because he looks ridiculous for (essentially) doing nothing other than removing Sandusky from his staff (which at the time was not the story).

Fact is he was assaulting minors from 1994 through 2009 (think those are the known dates). I'm not blaming Paterno but it sounds like he could have done more than notify the AD/President. Just like the student who witnessed it could have done more than tell Paterno.

He's Joe friggin Paterno afterall.

 

[DJ Rhude]

If Paterno went to the police, this guy would've been arrested....if you want to argue that fact, you're arguing just to be arguing....or you're saying you believe the police also weren't proactive about arresting Sandusky

If Joe Paterno goes to the police and says, "I want to report sexual abuse of children" I think that would get the authorities attention, no? he is afterall a legend

And no one is saying that Paterno was involved, just that he knew about it, and wasn't proactive about getting the guy arrested

For that, he should step down because that was morally wrong

 

[NAHSTE]

Oh and just so everyone knows, Sandusky worked out in the Penn State weight room a few times last week.

So Paterno hasn't exactly barred him from the program. Obviously has nothing to do with the legal issues we're discussing but speaks to the moral outrage.

 

[ralaw]

But how do you know he didn't follow up with the AD? How do you know he isn;t outraged? How do you know he didn't go to the police on his own accord at some point? How do you know he didn't deal with the parents of the victims quietly and on his own accord?

IF Paterno had done any of this it would have been a story a long time ago, Sandusky would have been in jail and Sandusky wouldn't have still been allowed to use the facilities. LOL, I can see it now...Paterno goes to the boy and his family and says, "Hey I know my assitant coach raped you, but come back to PSU on game tickets from me....I want to mentor you....oh' if you see Sandusky around campus with other boys just ignore him" I and others may be speculating but W2B come on.

 

[EmpireWF]

If Paterno went to the police, this guy would've been arrested....if you want to argue that fact, you're arguing just to be arguing....or you're saying you believe the police also weren't proactive about arresting Sandusky

If Joe Paterno goes to the police and says, "I want to report sexual abuse of children" I think that would get the authorities attention, no? he is afterall a legend

And no one is saying that Paterno was involved, just that he knew about it, and wasn't proactive about getting the guy arrested

For that, he should step down because that was morally wrong

IMO, if Paterno had been aware of Sandusky's questionable behavior as early as 1998, his actions in 2002 are weird in only telling the AD/President.

I'd like to know what he did, if anything, after informing them in the weeks/months after.

 

[Blade]

Fuck Paterno.

 

[MvP]

A little off-topic now but one thing that has bothered me while reading about this is that there are people who believe the graduate assistant should be sent to jail for not immediately alerting the police.

Just imagine being placed in that situation. You really can't be expected to think straight after witnessing something like that. Not one person here can truly state exactly how they would have reacted, given the situation.

It's also possible that the GA just simply did not want to get blackballed by the entire university for all-out snitching on Sandusky and potentially tarnishing the legacy of the school. Going straight to Paterno was probably not the best decision in terms of ethics but it was certainly a decision that was appreciated by the higher ups of PSU.

 

[ralaw]

A little off-topic now but one thing that has bothered me while reading about this is that there are people who believe the graduate assistant should be sent to jail for not immediately alerting the police.

Just imagine being placed in that situation. You really can't be expected to think straight after witnessing something like that. Not one person here can truly state exactly how they would have reacted, given the situation.

It's also possible that the GA just simply did not want to get blackballed by the entire university for all-out snitching on Sandusky and potentially tarnishing the legacy of the school. Going straight to Paterno was probably not the best decision in terms of ethics but it was certainly a decision that was appreciated by the higher ups of PSU.

In the end this case will prove that fact that everyone involved (inlcuding Paterno) put themselves and their careers ahead of this child and that is what matters most.

 

[SethMode]

Somewhat unrelated, but as a PSU fan I'm saddened to find that I long for the days when the primary reason for him resigning was his age/senility.

 

[shag773]

Other than, you know, there being a law that says he does. Would love to see links to these statements by legal professionals though. They should be a hell of a time trying to justify Joe Pa's willful ignorance.

I guess you missed my post..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...tigation-conference-paterno-ag_n_1080129.html

"State police Commissioner Frank Noonan said, as far as state police can tell, Paterno fulfilled his legal requirement to report."

 

[mgoblue2290]

A little off-topic now but one thing that has bothered me while reading about this is that there are people who believe the graduate assistant should be sent to jail for not immediately alerting the police.

Just imagine being placed in that situation. You really can't be expected to think straight after witnessing something like that. Not one person here can truly state exactly how they would have reacted, given the situation.

It's also possible that the GA just simply did not want to get blackballed by the entire university for all-out snitching on Sandusky and potentially tarnishing the legacy of the school. Going straight to Paterno was probably not the best decision in terms of ethics but it was certainly a decision that was appreciated by the higher ups of PSU.

As far as I'm concerned he made his decision and should now face the consequences. If the law is that he must report it, then he should go to jail. If it isn't, he should lose his job and be banned from ever coaching in the NCAA again. He chose to help save a football program's reputation rather than report a child rapist to the police.

 

[EmpireWF]

There's word about that Sandusky brought a boy to a closed PSU practice in 2007.

What the fuck?

 

[FedEx227]

Awesome.

Would've been nice to nip this in the butt (no pun intended, well maybe a little) back in 1998 or 2002. Oh well. Not university rules.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I don't have a link, because I just caught this on a radio show, but apparently there is something about the original DA who was handling the case being declared legally dead because they have been missing without a trace for the last seven years. The DA's computer was found at the bottom of a river with the hard drive unrecoverable.

WTF

Does anybody know anything about this? Paterno, the crafty old mob boss?

 

[FirstTimer]

I don't have a link, because I just caught this on a radio show, but apparently there is something about the original DA who was handling the case being declared legally dead because they have been missing without a trace for the last seven years. The DA's computer was found at the bottom of a river with the hard drive unrecoverable.

WTF

Does anybody know anything about this? Paterno, the crafty old mob boss?

This was on an episode of Disappeared on Investigate Discovery channel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Gricar

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/25/case-of-missing-pa-district-attorney-ray-gricar-baffles-police/

 

[mgoblue2290]

Nobody here can honestly say how they would act in a given situation. It's simply impossible to sit here and say what you'd do with 100% accuracy. It's foolish to think that anyone could.

I agree. I'm pretty sure I know what I would do, but you are right, I can never know for sure until I'm in that situation. You are responsible for your actions and the GA should face the consequences of not going to the police. As should Paterno and everyone else involved.

 

[EmpireWF]

No shit, the bastard's 2001 autobiography was titled, "Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story."

:facepalm:

 

[SethMode]

No shit, the bastard's 2001 autobiography was titled, "Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story."

:facepalm:

Just saw that somewhere else. Most horribly named book ever?

EDIT: http://www.happyplace.com/11983/jer...ost-ridiculously-appropriate-title-imaginable

 

[EmpireWF]

I don't have a link, because I just caught this on a radio show, but apparently there is something about the original DA who was handling the case being declared legally dead because they have been missing without a trace for the last seven years. The DA's computer was found at the bottom of a river with the hard drive unrecoverable.

WTF

Does anybody know anything about this? Paterno, the crafty old mob boss?

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-footba...ray-gricar-prosecutor-1998-penn-state-missing

Centre County prosecutor Ray Gricar decided not to prosecute then-Penn St. Nittany Lions DC Jerry Sandusky in 1998 after charges of child molestation were made. He never fully explained his decision.

Seven years later, then-district attorney Gricar went missing. His car was found abandoned in a parking lot and his laptop was found in the Susquehanna River, damaged beyond repair. He was declared dead this past July after a fruitless search never turned up his body.

Now, it is very early in the prosecution of Sandusky and it might be a bit of a leap to assume all of this is connected. The one thing that is true, however, is that Gricar's reasons for choosing not to prosecute will almost never be known.

That's not to say Gricer didn't try to find out everything he could about Sandusky. Gricer was said to have led the investigation into the coach himself and even had a police officer hide in the house of an alleged victim while the mother confronted Sandusky. That confrontation allegedly led to Sandusky's admission that he showered with a child.

There is no proof as to whether or not Gricer ever heard about the 2002 shower incident years later.

Whether Gricer decided to disappear and likely kill himself over the Sandusky allegations or something completely unrelated, we'll probably know. That said, police revealed that Gricar's home computer had saved searches for "how to wreck a hard drive" and "water damage to a notebook computer," meaning that he clearly wanted to make sure something never saw the light of day.

----

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-1107-haugh-penn-state--20111107,0,2324737.column

Police were listening in to a call between Sandusky and one of his victim's mother.

"I wish I were dead.'' — Jerry Sandusky in May 1998.

Two detectives from local police agencies overheard former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky admit to the mother of an 11-year-old boy that Sandusky gave her son a naked bear hug while taking a shower in a campus locker room.

"I was wrong," Sandusky said, according to a Pennsylvania grand jury document released Saturday. "I wish I could get forgiveness. I wish I were dead."

That cry for help came 13 years ago. Nobody heard it.

For reasons that remain inexplicable, no charges were filed after that investigation and nothing changed, so Sandusky was free to allegedly prey on more innocent boys.

 

[DJ Rhude]

You guys really expect me to believe that, if you found out someone at your workplace was committing heinous sex crimes against children you honestly "wouldn't know how I would react" and would look the other way whether they were a friend or not...this gives me two options to ponder

1. This is a really fucked up world

2. Everyone ain't keeping it real

I hope to God it's option 2....I have young kids though, so I know a few of y'all do not share my perspective.....the really fucked up thing is, I'm pretty sure those men had kids too and they still didn't say shit