Sandusky trades Penn State for state pen

http://lectiblog.blogspot.com/ lecti

Good riddance.

Mitchell Glaser

They could have had him 1998 if not earlier. Time to start prosecuting all who turned a blind eye. We may not be able to hold the Vatican to that standard, but we sure as hell can hold Penn State to it.

Sergio Riccetti Schubert

Why can’t we hold the Vatican to that standard? Perhaps not the “sovereign state” abroad, but every single last one of its employees under US jurisdiction.
- BarBarSeven
  
  Why can’t Orthodox Judaism be held to the same standard? I mean the list is fairly endless but the common solution is the same: Provide a safe way for victims to escape this bullshit. That’s the only practical solution.
  - Mitchell Glaser
    
    Each and every one that we can reach, of course. But there aren’t that many situations where you have multiple levels of authority in an institution protecting the molesters.
    - BarBarSeven
      
      Correct. There aren’t that many situations where you have multiple levels of authority protecting the molesters. But religious institutions & educational institutions are major entities. I mean I lived in a college town for a while that is also a state capital. And honestly, it was pretty easy to see how things can get out of hand really quickly.
- retepslluerb
  
  Are they employees?
- fuzzyfuzzyfungus
  
  “Perhaps not the “sovereign state” abroad”
  
  Given our, um, deep respect, for sovereign states(including Italy, I’m fairly sure that the incident with the CIA just kidnapping a guy and leaving the country is still a sore point, never mind places like Pakistan that we don’t even pretend to care about), I’d guess that the US just doesn’t take the issue all that seriously(If we did, do you think that old Bernard Francis Law, quietly removed from Boston and given a largely ceremonial position within the walls of the Vatican, would still be enjoying a quiet retirement?).
  
  Even if one were playing by the rules of polite diplomacy, declaring high-ranking Vatican officials to be personae non gratae and telling them to catch the next plane out of town is a perfectly legal way of baring your teeth.
- Patrick Shane
  
  Does anybody see the similarities between Jerry Sandusky and Monseigneur William Lynn?
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji7UQhr3z3M

franko

i really am surprised that his wife hasn’t come under any scrutiny through all this. some of this occurred at their house, and she was THERE. surely she had to be aware. the whole thing is so horrible.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=664418030 Kristyne Mednick Bosaiya

That’s a cruel and uninformed assumption. For all anyone knows, she’s a victim of his sickness on some level as well, simply by being duped by him all these years. These monsters hide in plain sight, and they hide well. Obviously.
- Mitchell Glaser
  
  They adopted one of those boys, and he acted out plenty. That’s straight from today’s news. I have serious doubts about her behavior.
  - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=664418030 Kristyne Mednick Bosaiya
    
    Viewing the past with today’s facts makes it much easier to draw conclusions and pass judgment.
    - Mitchell Glaser
      
      What is your alternative to reviewing the facts? A crystal ball?
  - chgoliz
    
    They adopted all of their children. Especially in the case of formerly fostered children, adoptees generally keep their mouths shut about abuse in their adoptive home. (The problem is much more widespread than you think.) It’s not surprising that only one so far has been willing to make his story public….but it’s not likely (based on statistics) that he’s the only one who was abused while growing up in that home.
- BarBarSeven
  
  Codependency allows abuse like this to happen. I feel nothing for anyone close to this asshole.
  - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=664418030 Kristyne Mednick Bosaiya
    
    Excellent. A psychiatric diagnosis via news article/peanut gallery.
    - http://mikeoshea.net/ somnambulist
      
      Please give your opinion instead of just showing up to every post sniping at people giving theirs. That’s bot helpful, not a dialogue, and suggests you have nothing to back up your point of view. People here think that others knew of the molestations and did nothing to report it. You seem to disagree. Can you explain why without insulting others?
    - chgoliz
      
      I agree with assorted.
      
      Is it the fact that she’s a woman that makes you want to give her a free pass? Have you been in her situation? Are you covering for someone you know in the situation?
      
      There’s some reason you’re fighting so hard against the idea that this woman was in a position to help these boys and did nothing. Do you grant the same free pass to all the men in the sports program who ignored eyewitness accounts and never went to the police?
    - BarBarSeven
      
      Have you actually read the details of this case? The chances of his wife—and other family members—not knowing is really zilch. My saying she’s codependent is actually me being nice to her about this. I’m actually deferring to her being about as much of a victim as the kids her husband abused.
- chgoliz
  
  Presumption of innocence is a good thing. But so too is following the story all the way, and making sure that anyone who aided and abetted such a depraved criminal also has the right and privilege of a fair trial.
  
  The truth is, his crimes didn’t happen in isolation. People walked in on him when he was victimizing children on campus; some of the victims were even able to point to specific times Mrs. Sandusky walked in (or was right outside the door, talking to them) on the abuse in her own home or when they were traveling together.
  
  Willful ignorance is no excuse. How many former victims have talked about how their mothers either refused to believe them, taking their husband’s side over protecting their children, or even knowingly put their children in the line of fire to protect themselves?
  
  We need to stop protecting everyone else, and start protecting the victims.
  - abstract_reg
    
    Of course it is equally likely that she was just as abused as the children. I’m not saying she was, I’m just saying that it isn’t quite time for the pitchforks. An investigation is probably in the process I’m sure, so lets just wait and see. The good news is one monster has been stopped. Time to go find the others.
    - chgoliz
      
      I totally agree with that.

janusnode

Excellent headline, very clever.

voiceinthedistance

Yes, if it is original, Rob just earned an honorable mention, right after “Headless body found in topless bar”. Respect.

If it was me writing the headline, I’d still be stuck trying to figure out where to go with the phrase “slime bucket”.
booknerd

Borrowed from Bullwinkle and Rocky, who probably borrowed it from Penn State itself. Both of my parents are alums (from the 50s) and it was a running joke even back then that the big prison near Penn State (you pass it on the highway) was referred to as “State Pen”.
- http://twitter.com/trempls tré
  
  I remember a similar crack in a Carlton-Will dialogue during a Fresh Prince episode.
- voiceinthedistance
  
  If your’e going to steal, at least choose wisely. Rocky and Bullwinkle are golden as source material.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=664418030 Kristyne Mednick Bosaiya

@ Mitchell Glaser when you’re living in it, where is the crystal ball or the ability to see in hindsight?

Mitchell Glaser

I think the facts have not painted a picture of the well-hidden monster you describe, quite the opposite! Joe Pa knew about it as well as other coaches, along with several other university officials and the police and some psychiatrists and a pile of other people. If Sandusky’s wife didn’t know, then she’s the only one for miles around. Far more likely she had her fingers in her ears or was under his thumb.
- http://mightybob.com thatbob
  
  While your outrage is understandable, I don’t believe that the *failure* to report these crimes is a prosecutable offense, except for a limited number of statutorily defined “mandatory reporters,” which varies by jurisdiction. And the husband-wife privilege would almost certainly protect Mrs. Sandusky from prosecution even in the strictest 18 states where reporting is mandatory for everyone.
  
  http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.cfm
  - Mitchell Glaser
    
    I see news articles every day where a mother is prosecuted for not stopping abuse perpetrated by her husband or boyfriend. Usually after the child is taken to the hospital or morgue.
- jackbird
  
  The Psychiatrists at least were mandatory reporters. What happened? What’s going to happen to them?

awjt

On the Internet, Outrage with a capital O is easy. When faced with all the complications that can ensue from rocking the boat, denial and complicity become much more attractive as possibilities. If you understand anything about abuse, the sickest, hardest part is breaking through the barrier of disbelief. This kind of thing goes on in families all the time, and happened in mine.

$16228947

Let us consider an institution that – whether by commission or by omission, knowingly or unknowingly – harbored and abetted a child molester.

Patrick Shane

As Attorney General, Tom Corbett received over $647,000 in campaign contributions from members of the Second Mile Foundation, while only assigning one investigator to the case.

Meanwhile, at the same time, he assigned 14 investigators to Bill Deweese, who spent more than 5 years trying to get him.

It is difficult to believe these campaign contributions did not improperly influence his decision to not file charges against Jerry Sandusky.

The state police trooper who initially handled the Clinton County case against Jerry Sandusky believed there was enough evidence from a teenage boy — now known as Victim One– to charge Sandusky with indecent assault.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji7UQhr3z3M