Today, Happy Valley finds itself in the middle of a shocking scandal that's made nationwide news. By now, most of us have heard about the alarming allegations of former assistant Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing eight young men over a span of fifteen years. While Sandusky was arraigned this weekend in Centre County, Penn State's athletic director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz are expected to turn themselves in to Harrisburg Magisterial District Judge Marsha Stewart later today. Both have been charged with perjury and failure to report the alleged child abuse. Curley has requested administrative leave to handle his defense, while Schultz will head back into retirement.
On Monday's Radio Smart Talk, we'll discuss the fallout of the scandal, and what it could mean for the university moving forward. How will head football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier be affected? And what exactly is the law when it comes to reporting child abuse? We'll hear from two reporters who've been closely following the case: witf's multimedia news director Tim Lambert and Patriot News journalist Sara Ganim. Also, we'll talk to Jennifer Storm, executive director of the Victim/Witness Assitance Program in Harrisburg.
LISTEN TO PROGRAM:
Complete coverage of the Jerry Sandusky scandal:
- Jerry Sandusky faces child sex charges and two Penn State officials indicted for perjury in the case
- Penn State athletic director, business VP slated to surrender amidst child abuse scandal
- More fallout at Penn State in the wake of Sandusky indictment
- The fallout from Penn State's child abuse scandal
- Links: Attorney General talks details in Sandusky investigation
comments
pedophiles hide their activities, cover their tracks . . . .but---------there HAD to be people in the PSU organization who knew, and who either out of desire to protect the institution or the highly profitable football program did not report their knowledge or their suspicions.
Chances are there are many more children victimized over the years by Sandusky . .. .
My sincere wish is that these victims are getting the professional help they need for the trauma.
the administration of the university is responsible for the welfare and safety of those who attend the university or are brought onto the campus.
the perpetrator(s) should go before the courts for final determination of guilt and innocence.
the administration has to address their own roles and how to create a safe environment for reporting incidents.
Sex-abuse case shatters Hershey School
By Bob Fernandez
Inquirer Staff Writer
DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The Milton Hershey School, the wealthy and nationally acclaimed free boarding school for disadvantaged children, quietly paid $3 million earlier this year to compensate for the sexual abuse suffered by five former students, The Inquirer has learned.
Several boys complained to regular house parents about Koons in the 1980s, according to police documents. The mother of one of those boys sent a sworn statement to the Derry Township Police Department about a molestation in 1998. An investigation was launched in March 1998, and the school was contacted, according to an internal police report of the investigation.
But the case was dropped in April 1999,
Will the Att. General investigate why??
Many adults failed to help that child. And as the reports came in even less help came forward!!
I guess athletic skill, money and position makes us think these men are gods?!! Will these chilren ever be safe and obtain justice from Penn State?
when the language effectively begins to reflect the activity I think we'll begin to deal with the effects more realistically.
Sandusky didn't simply molest---- a minimizing word which suggests a too forceful stroking, inappropriate touching, that sort of thing-------------he RAPED those boys.
"RAPE" conveys far more emphatically the idea that the victim was most cruelly attacked and injured, truamatized by forced assault, than the gentler and vaguer word "molestation."
Sandusky, if the allegations are indeed truthful ones, raped those children.
I am just curious when such an act is with a 10 year old why it isn't called an attack, and rape? It should be considered one of the highest crimes...
BS!!!!
Do a show on child abuse and relate it to the current Penn State scandal, fine.
What you did today is tripe and it's not worthy of WITF or any other NPR station.
continued below . . .
We're outraged when we learn that an unspeakable act is committed without appropriate action, yet we're asking universities to arbitrarily draw lines which we hope won't interfere when our own spawn commit egregious acts? My point; the waters get murky when we hold two standards for individuals who are of prosecutable age as adults.
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