Editorial: Penn State, a familiar pattern
Jerry Sandusky when he was defensive coordinator for Penn State (Dec. 28, 1999) Credit: AP
You'd think it would be clear by now: Covering the tracks of sexual predators in our institutions not only dooms future victims to abuse, it also dooms the institutions to far worse consequences than quick, rigorous investigations would.
Jerry Sandusky, a former assistant coach for the Penn State University football team, is accused of more than 40 criminal counts related to the sexual abuse of young boys between 1994 and 2009. Two former Penn State administrators are charged with perjury and failure to report abuse to authorities after being informed of incidents in 1998 and 2002. The two resigned late Sunday.
Joe Paterno, head coach for 46 seasons, is not being investigated but is a witness. A graduate student said he told Paterno he had seen Sandusky sexually assault a boy in a shower. Paterno apparently reported the incident to one of the administrators who has been charged.
Sandusky retired from coaching in 1999 but still kept an office on campus and ran the Second Mile Foundation, an organization for needy children he founded in 1977 -- and allegedly the source of his victims.
We've seen this pattern in corporations, schools, colleges and churches. Leaders put the short-term good of an organization ahead of the safety of potential victims, and fail to protect both the institution and the innocent. If the allegations are true, the punishments should be as severe as the law allows for both Sandusky and his enablers, who may have put the reputation of Penn State above the welfare of vulnerable children.
