Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator and founder of The Second Mile foundation, a not-for-profit serving youth in the Pennsylvania area, was found guilty Friday on 45 counts (out of 48) of child sex abuse.
Sandusky faces a minimum of 60 years of incarceration; at age 68 this sentence guarantees Sandusky’s dying days to be behind bars.
News from the courtroom indicated that Jerry Sandusky appeared “stunned” by the verdict, which took only 21 hours for the jury to decide.
Stunned? Sandusky was first investigated on suspension of child sex abuse in 1998. Nineteen damn ninety-eight! Yet, he was allowed to maintain his position within Penn State‘s program, and he was allowed to continue to have contact with minors — rub-a-dubbin’ in the showers on campus.
Let’s not forget the level of complicity by agents of the law and university officials, including perhaps the beloved Joe Paterno, (God bless the dead.)
At what point does turning a “deaf” ear or ‘blind” eye to the abuse, of any kind, of children become acceptable behavior by adults? Money and tradition couldn’t possibly be more important than the well-being of children.
Can the Penn State football program overcome this?
I commend the young men who were manipulated and sexually abused and also Mike McQueary, former graduate assistant football coach for the Nittany Lions, who had the courage to testify about witnessing Sandusky having sexual contact with a child. Shockingly, Sandusky’s own adoptive son revealed (not in court) that, he too, was a victim of Sandusky’s inappropriate conduct.
The most saddening aspect of all is that unsuspecting families, and especially single mothers, who sought support from this man and his foundation fell victim to criminal circumstances. Circumstances that will affect them forever.
Dottie Sandusky, Jerry’s wife, will never be the same. Bless her heart. She was a ride or die chick until the end, even taking the stand in defense of her husband.
But, back to Sandusky being “stunned.” It demonstrates that he had an air of invincibility. Why not, though? He was a coach at one of the most storied college football programs in history; revered by the masses, so much so, that he even had some of his young victims believing he was untouchable, thus their reluctance to tell on him.
What’s done in the dark, always comes to light, and Gerald Arthur Sandusky found out in grim fashion as the word “guilty” was spoken aloud over and over again during the reading of the jury’s verdict.
Oh, and yes, I hit y’all with his full government name because that’s what he will be known by in prison.
Let the headlines ring out: JERRY SANDUSKY FOUND GUILTY.
