Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal: The Key Players

The charges are revolting.

Sodomy. Rape. Molestation. All of young boys. Over the span of a decade. By a respected -- celebrated -- Penn State University official.

Contained in a 23-page grand jury report, they tell the story of a famed athletic program with a dark, dark secret. They tell the story of a group of men who allegedly failed to act, putting the safety of children -- children they were purported to be helping -- on the line. They turned their heads, and the abuse continued.

Until now. Former assistant Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested Saturday on a staggering 40 counts of sex crimes against minors. Some of these crimes were witnessed by Penn State students and employees as far back as 2002. Some of them were reported to high-ranking Penn State officials, including the school's famed football coach Joe Paterno and Athletic Director Tim Curley. And yet Sandusky's actions are only now coming to light.

See below a guide to the key players in the mind-boggling case -- and attempt to parse for yourself: Who knew what, and when? Who is culpable for this man's alleged abominable behavior? Who should be held responsible? Does the Penn State football program deserve to survive?

Comments

[Bob Kellerman]

05:18 PM on 12/12/2011

Does the Penn State football program deserve to survive?

SILLY SENSATIONALISTIC QUESTION

Ought to be --- can Penn State rebuild its program in a way that is committed to fairness and honesty?

[michelv]

11:52 PM on 11/21/2011

Frankly, one look at his face, his disgusting teeth/mouth structure, weird smile, you can tell he is a sick creep.

[ussuri]

03:03 PM on 11/15/2011

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/franklincoverupexcerpt.shtml
sexual abuse of orphans is an old concept with vip`s.

[ussuri]

02:46 PM on 11/15/2011

http://educate-yourself.org/cn/franklincoverupexcerpt.shtml
sexual abuse of children is an old concept among vip`s. even w`s father was involved

[JoePenn]

08:43 AM on 12/04/2011

Craig Spence was about to spill some beans when he 'was suicided' over the Franklin Cover Up.

[nypapajoe]

12:04 PM on 11/12/2011

What cojones Sandusky also created a charity to recruit his victims which consisted of boys between 6 - 12 years old! This was well organized and funded! His computers must contain tons of evidence! FBI will have a field day with this monster/rapist! The campus police must be investigated along with all of those involved!

[michelv]

11:57 PM on 11/21/2011

Some psychologists claim a lot of people who do charity and volunteer work are child abusers. Maybe it's a compensation coping mechanism, or it just gives them a sense of entitlement, or perhaps it gets them closer to their prey, or "all of the above." It is no coincidence that it seems many abusers are coaches, scout leaders, clergy, cops, etc.

[CeeMac]

12:15 AM on 11/10/2011

"...Penn State senior vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz was known for his family values."

Evidently Schultz is another "family values" man who put, in this instance, the interest of his job and school's football program ahead of the welfare of a RAPED CHILD. This man is a pathetic excuse of humanity.

[Erica Jahan]

02:43 AM on 11/09/2011

What I don't understand is how a university system becomes a little legal authority of its own that has the power to report or not report crimes to the police (e.g., student rapes by athletes). Why on earth would you report the rape of a boy to the athletic director and not go that extra step to report it to the police. I just don't by into that. If after a few days, its clear the school is going to report the rape of a boy to the police, why wouldn't you have the strength to report it to the proper legal authorities. The cycle of damage here is stunning.

[CeeMac]

12:16 AM on 11/10/2011

It's all about the football, Erica. You, me, raped kids, raped cheerleaders, it doesn't matter. It's all about the almighty dollar and football.

[SionShankel]

03:08 PM on 11/08/2011

How can you witness a rape of a boy and not yell or try to stop it????

[sshelly]

02:03 PM on 11/08/2011

Bet these animals can't wait to get to prison! They deserve everything they'll get!!

[G Goo]

12:35 PM on 11/08/2011

Unbelievable Horror !!
This investigation has been going on for a long time, and arrests are just now being made?
This guy (Sandusky) and those who did the cover up are all sick perverts. How could they?

Several years ago, there was a disappearance of the Centre County D.A.; rumor has it, that he was working on this investigation. Just sayin'.

[MissIndependentLady]

11:57 AM on 11/08/2011

People need to stop making this a political issue. It's extremely inappropriate. He's not a politician, and even if he were, what's more important is that he gets convicted for these despicable crimes. I can't imagine being a victim of child abuse and seeing the adults around me not help me. These are the people we grow up to believe are helpful. Every person involved in this should be ashamed of themselves for the rest of their lives. Failures, they are.

[justobserve]

11:32 AM on 11/09/2011

They should all be in jail!

[myviews]

12:22 AM on 11/29/2011

Yes, just bc he is a wealthy Republican doesn't mean we need to h8 on ol' Jerr-bear!

[70119]

11:52 AM on 11/08/2011

Enough with the slide-show format. It takes an eternity to go from slide to slide.

[TheAntiOkie]

11:25 AM on 11/08/2011

Wondering what percentage of the people who tell everyone what great family values folks they are actually are closeted perverts or are hiding behind that to hide something else of which they are ashamed..................It's not looking good for the percentage to be low.

[John Horner]

10:45 AM on 11/08/2011

The amount of abuse which goes on in our institution and then gets hidden is appalling.

[mira chancleta]

10:38 AM on 11/08/2011

Not too differently...years back, the U. of Iowa had a similar situation with a very wealthy "wrestling supporter" who kept a party mansion near campus for weekend drinking binges with "the boys". It was widely known for a very long time, was hushed up and many of the "boys" went on to lives of drunkenness, wandering drugged and aimless downtown or regulars on the police blotter and drunk tank.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison, has had very similar "sexual" shenanigans for over a decade. There, the heads (and careers) of the underling victims (deans of students, division directors and even graduate asssistants) rolled as TOP administrative culprits and their quivering enablers went on to very comfy retirement packages in the SunBelt or luxury water front condos to crow about the "impact" they had on that "progressive" campus.

UC-Berkeley had quite the scandal when a poltically-anointed sexual-orientation and ethnic minority administrator was found black-mailing office staff into "favors" in the office lounge performing "other duties as assigned".

Hang them all AND their protectors.