Joe Paterno's role in covering up Jerry Sandusky's child molestations grows as evidence is leaked

[iandhr]

Source: Yahoo

The Penn State administration had finally hatched a plan. It was too kind, backward and included possibly tampering with a criminal investigation. Still, it was enough of a plan that it could've stopped Jerry Sandusky, child molester, back in 2001.

Just a couple weeks earlier, a football graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, had witnessed Sandusky abusing a boy in a Penn State locker room shower. He told coach Joe Paterno. He told vice president Gary Schultz and athletic director Tim Curley. He could've been more specific. He was clearly specific enough, however, to get their attention.
Schultz plotted out a course of action, according to a bombshell report by CNN, citing an email exchange that's been uncovered in the school's independent investigation by former FBI chief Louis Freeh. The report could be released as early as next month.

According to CNN in an email dated Feb. 26, 2001, Schultz wrote to Curley about a three-part plan that included talking "with the subject asap regarding the future appropriate use of the University facility," … "contacting the chair of the charitable organization" and "contacting the Department of Welfare."

Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--joe-paterno-role-jerry-sandusky-coverup-grows.html?fb_action_ids=3257196480540%2C3459299284386%2C10151098173369954&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_ref=type%3Aread%2Cuser%3AoiSHkr_h0dK7H_rgtDXtJOl8b6g%2Ctype%3Aread%2Cuser%3AD-VxFPjSQngh4TvNIBRTjdT9Mrg%2Ctype%3Aread%2Cuser%3Azr3bfVBrxC7Z7QNM4icWH9fe6QI&fb_source=other_multiline&code=AQDfol-16DYWlVW_r-XFXc53HOjJ9Ow_OA9zR9riK49bVnMHltr9k8N_Fu3VMGvZ05SMTgiKZGgw2DpmDngZml9oR_RxzqNqUAUt2zfymu1p_P3ycHTScwdbqKMcj9UfM8UVucJqS8Nv8Enj_kwJGzCHmw3NmzAM8ghqSQxO7lISjUknX9mKdFPTxFi1ejAGWog#_=_

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The **** has not even begun to hit the fan.

[leveymg]

1. It seems that Sandusky (and others unknown) had leverage over Paterno and the rest of the program

What was their leverage?

I think there's another scandal wrapped up inside this one that protected Sandusky, that if it came out would have destroyed Penn State football and its coaching staff.

My gut tells me it has to do with:

[cindyperry2010]

6. so the money and gambling on the game

i sadly have a vague suspicion of a pedophile ring around the second mile. hope i am wrong but would not be surprised. it is all disgusting and i said all along paterno had to know. there was no way he didn't sinced 1998 when the state police investigated the first time. wonder how long the all knew.

[Nostradammit]

36. My instincts tell me the same thing.

I would imagine Sandusky must have had some very powerful leverage against some powerful people to stay out of prison for as long as he did.

Somehow I don't think a threat of exposing a gambling ring would do it, they were risking too much keeping him around.

[sofa king]

46. Once he snookered them into covering up...

...Sandusky had 'em right where he wanted them. If he convinced them the first time that it was a misunderstanding, and they went to bat for him then, then they all became co-conspirators who had to protect Sandusky to evade prosecution themselves for collusion.

Sandusky seems to have been a master at interpersonal manipulation. Now, he's the anchor which shall drag all of them down. I give him less than 30 days to live once he's quietly circulated into the general population sometime next year, and the Commonwealth will hold up his hands and say, "oops, I guess it ends here."

[Nostradammit]

48. I don't think they go to the lengths of killing a DA just for the gambling thing, though.

[sofa king]

50. No, me either.

I don't claim to know what's going on, but I've learned to prick my ears up whenever leveymg has a hunch.

Personally, I think absolutely everything Sandusky was doing had the ulterior motive of getting him closer to the kids. If there's a gambling scandal here, I think he maneuvered the circumstances of that to enable him to commit his still more heinous crimes.

[Frank Cannon]

38. Sadly, I think the pedophile ring is almost assured.

I hope the authorities are looking into the lives of the high-level donors to that bullshit "charity", which shut its doors almost immediately after Sandusky was busted.

[Tom Ripley]

20. +1,000,000

[krkaufman]

28. there needn't be some other leverage ...

There needn't be any other leverage beyond everyone involved in the coverup trying to protect their own jobs, their reputations, and the reputation of the Penn State football program and university. As the article suggests, Paterno's career was in question at the time, 2001, and public revelation of Sandusky's misdeeds would likely have been enough to end Paterno's career -- though, in the end, perhaps with more remaining of his legacy than will now likely survive, if the implications in the emails prove true.

Also, as the article states...

It is now perfectly reasonable to postulate that Joe Paterno protected Jerry Sandusky, who had been a Penn State assistant coach from 1969 until retiring in 1999.

Given that Paterno is dead, we may never truly know his complicity, and I'm not sure how much stock I'll put in the testimony of the remaining conspirators.

[yardwork]

44. The truth is even sadder. Pedophiles are almost always protected.

No further conspiracy required. The fact is that pedophiles are rarely busted by the adults around them, even though those other adults have reasons to know what is happening.

What we're seeing is something that survivors of childhood sexual abuse already know. Society protects and enables the abusers most of the time.

[Blue_Tires]

55. Could just be as simple as

Paterno knowing Sandusky for over 30+ years, and he couldn't bring himself to turn in an old friend...

Add that to the fact that no one at PSU wanted a scandal, especially given their "clean" reputation, so everyone closed their eyes and covered their ears...

[calimary]

2. All for the sake of the sacrament of football.

I'll never understand that one. Fucking FOOTBALL?????? We set all morals, ethics, and even LAWS aside, for the sake of fucking FOOTBALL.

[DrDan]

12. no . . for the sake of the money football brings in

[calimary]

18. Fair enough.

I still have never figured out the appeal of football. Money or no.

[rug]

3. For a sportswriter, Wetzel had outstanding daily coverage of the Sandusky trial.

The play by play was gripping.

[NJCher]

47. I thought so, too!

And this article was also excellent.


Cher

[richmwill]

4. Gee- And I remember when Paterno died...

I was slammed by some people for saying that he was an enabler. But I guess enabling and turning a blind eye to Sandusky's criminal acts was ok, because he was a good football coach. Right?

[leveymg]

5. How convenient. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

[Sedona]

17. I'm starting to wonder if he's really dead

& hanging with Kenny (Boy) Lay in Paraguay

[Stargazer09]

7. I agree

The **** has not even begun to hit the fan.

The article really showed that some people will go to horrific lengths to keep their careers intact.

Basically, none of those men gave a damn about the boys being abused. They were only worried about their college and its football program.

Sickening.

[Posteritatis]

8. Maybe his myriad defenders here will begin chewing on their words now. (nt)

[Journeyman]

9. So allegations were made (by an eye witness!) that Sandusky had raped a child in the locker room...

and the university hatched a plan that included "talking with the subject asap regarding the future appropriate use of the University facility."

I'm confused. Did Sandusky rape the child in the wrong room? Or did he forget to fill out the proper "preparing to rape a child" form?

[Posteritatis]

11. The workaround language was for plausible deniability if the emails ever got out

Not that that worked out terribly well in the end, but the clear tone of those emails is "we're talking about how to suppress this in a way that makes it as far from obvious as possible what we're suppressing."

If Paterno and company had actually mentioned what Sandusky did - or, hell, mentioned his name - in them, then that'd get in the way of their ability to pretend nothing happened.

[rocktivity]

16. DUzy candidate!

rocktivity

[krkaufman]

31. good one

Yeah, that was a pretty damning email passage.

Sadly, it comes across as fellow members of a paedo ring needing to have an intervention with a member who is just getting a little too bold, out-in-the-open with his activities.

These guys need to face some serious jail time.

[AngryAmish]

57. He failed to report to the ass-rape compliance co-ordinator

[The Jungle 1]

10. history

We as a society ignored all these sex crimes for years.
We are not there yet, but we are getting close.

IT IS NEVER WRONG TO QUESTION AUTHORITY. If you teach you children nothing else teach then that.

[Vanje]

13. You are exactly right! (Welcome to DU)

Its almost as if its not a crime if an important man abuses "unimportant" children.

"Funny Uncle"

Not very funny , really.

[Crowman1979]

14. People need to stop giving money to sports teams who have plenty of it.

[Crowman1979]

15. Ever notice that its the religious conservative football player types that try to hide stuff under..

...the rug.

[rateyes]

19. Paterno died at the right time. Else he would be facing prison time, too.

[Skittles]

51. that hastened his death

the knowledge that his days of being worshiped were over

[Princess Turandot]

21. Ex University President Spanier: 'The only downside for us...'

Per the CNN article (http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/30/justice/penn-state-emails/index.html)

"The only downside for us is if the message (to Sandusky) isn't 'heard' and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it," Spanier purportedly wrote.

"But that can be assessed down the down the road. The approach you outline is humane and a reasonable way to proceed," he adds.

'Humane' - to Sandusky, not future victims. The 'downside'? Their legal culpability, not future victims.
These children were worthless to them, apparently.

If the email descriptions are accurate, Spanier should be indicted as the other two uni admins were for failure to report Sandusky and lying to the GJ.

The NYT has a similar story: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/sports/ncaafootball/paterno-may-have-influenced-decision-not-to-report-sandusky-e-mails-indicate.html?pagewanted=all

[melissaf]

22. The "humane" thing is what's so profoundly baffling

to me. I mean, it's not like Sandusky was caught shoplifting a pack of Lifesavers...

I think Spanier should definitely be thrown in with the rest of the pack, for criminal behavior and brutal stupidity (or stupid brutality, take your pick).

[krkaufman]

29. $$$

Those emails are gonna cost Penn State a load of money. (aside from hopefully putting at least those 3 guys in prison)

[yardwork]

43. That's what makes me so angry. No consideration or even a thought given to all the children.

Republicans - and don't forget these are all Republicans, very powerful Republicans closely connected to state and federal party leaders - are always talking about "family values" and "think of the children."

We see how that worked in practice at Penn State.

[Punkingal]

53. Spanier should go to jail.

He is a marriage and family counselor for pete's sake, and he cared nothing for the kids.

[RainDog]

23. Paterno covered up child abuse

according to this email included in the OP link:

"After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps. I am having trouble with going to everyone but the person involved. I would be more comfortable meeting with the person and tell them about the information we received and tell them we are aware of the first situation," Curley's email said, according to CNN.

Paterno was directly responsible for making it possible for Sandusky to abuse more children - but all the other adults were complicit, as well, for not ignoring Paterno.

But Paterno was the one who made the request to stop direct action to deal with the situation. What a winner.

[krkaufman]

30. no, it doesn't

No, it doesn't demonstrate that Paterno was "directly responsible" for making it possible for the abuse to continue. The email quote certainly raises the possibility that Paterno blunted their response -- but that conclusion would require knowing exactly what Curley discussed with Paterno, and that isn't clear.

Unfortunately, with Paterno dead and that conversation likely not having been documented, we'll likely never know with any certainty what was said. Will Curley tell the truth, will he fall on his sword and protect Paterno, or will he say that the escalating the issue to authorities was blocked by Paterno. He could testify any number of ways, but unless there was a third person present during their conversation, or it was recorded/documented at the time, we'll be stuck with whatever Curley, a known conspirator in the coverup, tells us.

[RainDog]

34. McQueary had already talked to Paterno

In a 2011 appearance to the grand jury, Paterno said McQueary detailed what he saw in the shower. Within a couple days Paterno relayed the story to Curley over the phone. He said he wasn't involved in the investigation after that.

Paterno knew, no matter what he and Curley discussed, as Paterno himself admitted. So, you're trying to claim that Curley would've broken the law and Paterno would've gone along with it?

Cause remember - Paterno himself admitted he had been informed of the abuse. You're trying to pretend that Paterno would've never thought to mention this to Sandusky or wonder why the guy was not getting medical help after the email exchange noted here? For a problem that would've undermined the entire Penn State program that Paterno built?

That one is difficult to believe. Tim Curley was Joe Paterno's boss in title only. Curley grew up in State College in a house just down the street from the current Beaver Stadium. He parked cars and sold programs as a kid. He played football at Penn State and was said to be JoePa's handpicked choice as athletic director years later.

I cannot believe the lengths some will go to to try to pretend Paterno was not aware of the abuse.

In the testimony, Paterno said he "knew inappropriate action was taken by Jerry Sandusky with a youngster" after a meeting with then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary, who allegedly saw Sandusky sexually abusing a boy in a locker room shower the previous night, but did not inform police and waited at least a day to inform his boss, athletic director Tim Curley, because he "didn't want to interfere with their weekends."

Sandusky, who played and coached under Paterno for more than 30 years prior to his retirement in 1999, remained a regular on Penn State's campus until his arrest on a multitude of sexual abuse charges last month.

Sandusky had been implicated as a possible sex offender as early as 1998, when university police were involved in an investigation following "allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior involving Sandusky and young boys in the football showers." At least two detectives in that case reportedly heard Sandusky admit to showering with a boy on two different occasions, once to the boy's mother and once in an interview with the state's child welfare agency, but the case was closed after the county district attorney (now deceased) declined to prosecute. Schultz told the grand jury he was aware of the investigation that Penn State police had produced a 95-page report.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/joe-paterno-told-a-grand-jury-he-knew-inappropriate-action-was-taken-by-jerry-sandusky-with-a-youngster-in-2002?urn=ncaaf,wp11597

The entire Penn State football program is an embarrassment.

An asst. coach didn't want to interfere with someone's weekend to say... oh, Sandusky is fucking children in the showers. The deference to authority is disgusting. The attempt to put the program over children's lives is repulsive.

It reminds so much of the Catholic Church - honestly - and reminds me what is wrong with both institutions.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

24. Time for Penn State to tear down his statue

and remove any other honors bestowed on the old prick

[rocktivity]

25. .

rocktivity

[waddirum]

49. I believe that one of the top ten (commandments) states:

Thou shalt not make any graven images.

But like all of the others, this one has an asterisk which allows it if done by the "good guys".

[Historic NY]

26. There is an active conspiracy here..... a conspiracy of silence

wonder if they will go further in the courts.

[Lugnut]

27. It's not over. Far from it.

I'm waiting to see how and when Tom Corbett gets fried for his role in the cover-up. He was the PA AG at the time and he assigned ONE state trooper to the case.

[krkaufman]

32. Ouch.

Yeah, hard to see him not catching some heat, at some point.

Hope he's not stupid enough to try to stall any current investigations.

[kickysnana]

33. Then there is the issue of the missing DDA. n/t

[alp227]

35. named Ray Gricar.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/sports/ncaafootball/questions-on-sandusky-wrapped-in-2005-gricar-mystery.html

[Nostradammit]

39. Yeah, here is where it really starts to reek.

[blue neen]

40. Will we ever know the truth?

It seems like way more than a coincidence that Gricar disappeared when he did.

[Cosmocat]

42. Yes, over half a decade after not prosecuting Sandusky

they went and have him killed?

Because?

These morons are guilty of doing, literally, nothing.

But, sure, it is easy to see how someone who never knew who Ray Gricar was solved the case after all these years.

A man who was a week past having successfully prosecuting the biggest heroin ring in his county, who prosecuted and investigated murders, hard criminals, actual organized crime, it is the obvious conclusion that egg headed academics had him killed when he wasn't even investigating them.

This outside of the fact that almost 9 years to the day, his brother killed himself in a similar manner to how Gricar disappeared.

[blue neen]

45. Who said that "they" did?

There are many possibilities here...and, IMHO, they should all be considered.

I don't know what happened to Mr. Gricar but believe it would be good for everyone TO know...especially his family.

So, that goes back to the original question: "will we ever know the truth?"

[Cosmocat]

54. "seems like way more than a coincidence that Gricar disappeared when he did."

You strongly suggested that this was the reason for his disappearance, without even knowing the time line.

Well, yeah, it would be "good to know."

But, this has been a mystery people have been trying to solves for a LONG time before last fall when the Sandusky situation came to light.

What is sad for the family, is people who never heard of Gricar thinking they broke the case when they found out about Sandusky.

Of the 1,000s of possibilities, that it had ANYTHING to do with Sandusky/PSU is pretty much the last possibility.

[blue neen]

56. That's your take on it.

You are entitled to your opinion, as am I. Thank God we live in a country that allows for differing opinions!

We are also entitled to ask questions before, during, and after investigations.

I didn't first hear about Ray Gricar in November. You seem to have made up your mind about what happened, which is fine. I have not, which is also fine.

[adigal]

37. I wish paterno were here so he could go to jail

Teach everyone that athletics are not above the law.

[jonthebru]

41. Since this have broken:

The law requires anyone who is responsible for children to report any indications or knowledge of abuse to authorities. Its hard to believe that coaches and other athletic staff were left out of the law, at least in some states. Now, California and probably other states have added those people to the law.
If the "Department Of Welfare" people had been correctly notified the situation would have ended. The right ethical person was never informed.
Unfortunately George Orwell had it right. "All people were created equal, but some are more equal than others."

[tularetom]

52. If former FBI chief Louis Freeh is handling the "independent investigation"

You can pretty much bet that all things sleazy and slimy will be covered up and/or denied. The only reason they hired that asshole is that they knew he was a whore who would do what they told him as long as they paid him.