Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal

The eyes of the nation are fixed upon Penn State as the sex abuse scandal there continues to unfold. By now, most of you know the shocking details of the case. Allegations of child rape at a campus locker room in 2002. The accused predator? Former assistant Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky. As the story goes, Mike McQueary (then a grad student, now a linebacker coach at Penn State) testified he saw the assault taking place. He reported the attack on a ten year old boy to beloved Penn State Football coach, Joe Paterno. According to the grand jury report, Paterno told his boss, the athletic director. The A-D in turn tells the senior vice president for finance and business. Next, the president of the university is informed. A horrible crime report, passed dispassionately up the collegiate food chain. Not one person went to the police. Not one person rushed to physically defend the alleged child victim. The sordid story was hidden away until an investigation was finally formally begun this year …

Nine years later– there are profound reverberations. Sandusky has been arrested. Eight reported victims have come forward so far. The list of young victims is expected to grow. Football icon, Joe Paterno fired- days away from his actual retirement. His former bosses in trouble with the law for their presumed part in not reporting the crime. Students took to the streets in support of their mythic coach, even setting fire to news vans. Moral outrage over the firing of Paterno. Where was the outrage in 2002 for the defenseless children? Why was Sandusky allowed to roam free– even given special status at the university after “retiring” abruptly at the age of 55 in 1999?

These are all disturbing questions. I took them to child advocate and friend, Erin Runnion. Erin’s daughter, Samantha, was assaulted and murdered by a child predator in 2002 in Orange County. She’s been following the case closely, as you would imagine.

Runnion tells me, “Most predators are not the creepy guy next-door, you would never leave your child alone with. These are people who, otherwise, are upstanding citizens, well-liked.” Erin said the Penn State sexual abuse scandal highlights the ethical question of the safety of children first. She said the hierarchy of the university should be “held criminally responsible” for not reporting the alleged assault. Runnion goes on to say, the child predator is often someone “you like, respect, even love.” This is what makes the issue of child abuse so very uncomfortable, and why it so often goes unabated. Sadly, Runnion does not find the details of the case against Sandusky unusual. She says it happens “frighteningly often”. People and communities rally around the accused, not the child victim. She points out, the only way to save children from the abuse is to be a “brave advocate.”

This high profile case has once again riveted the nation on the uncomfortable, pervasive issue of sexual abuse against children. Will we step up this time? The very safety of our children depends on it. It is an epidemic. Consider these statistics: one in four girls will be molested before age 18. One in seven boys will be molested before age 18. Today students at Penn State are being urged to wear blue in support of victims of child molestation. I am. I hope you will too. It’s incumbent upon us all to protect our kids. As Ms. Runnion so poignantly states it –so that … “Children will no longer be left alone… to suffer in silence”.

Learn more about Erin Runnion and The Joyful Child at http://www.thejoyfulchild.org/

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 13th, 2011 at 1:55 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.