In the News: Penn State Fined 60 Million after Sandusky Child Abuse Conviction

On November 5^th, 2011 former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested and released on $100,000 bail after being arraigned on 40 criminal charges. He was accused of child sexual abuse that ranged from inappropriate sexual contact, assault and rape. He’s been found guilty of using his position as a prominent football authority and the resources given to him under that to prey and attack his victims. On June 22^nd, 2012 Sandusky was found guilty of 45 of the 48 sexual charges and will most likely be sentenced to life in prison.

Today the NCAA laid down the heavy hammer on Penn State for their “conspiracy of silence” that allowed this to happen. The judgment as reported by NPR is as follows:

• A $60 million fine. The money will go into an endowment fund to support programs around the nation that assist victims of sexual abuse…
• A ban on participation in post-season football bowl games for four years…
• A reduction in the number of football scholarships from 25 to 15 for four years…
• And the vacating of all the football team’s wins for the years 1998-2011.

Personally, the worst part about this is the fact that there were three charges that Sandusky was found not guilty of. One of those charges was more recent (occurred on March 1^st, 2002) and was supported by eye witness testimony (a graduate assistant) and somehow did not suffice for a guilty verdict. How can an assault be witnessed but not proven in a court of law? What about that young man, where’s his justice? Each and every one of those boys should receive justice for what happened to them. It’s such a tragedy to have been subjected to that kind of abuse.

Sexual trauma is known to be the cause of many mental disorders and addictions later on in life. Who knows how many boys he really attacked? I mean there must have been hundreds of victims who were afraid to speak up and say they’d been assaulted. They must be embarrassed, ashamed and scared for something they had no control over. Adults that take advantage of children are disgusting. This is outright disgusting.

I wonder how all those Penn State fans who were so adamantly supporting Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky feel now. I wonder if they rallied together to support these victims as adamantly as they did to protest against Paterno’s firing.

We must protect the safety of our children and the safety of other human beings before our own selfish desires. The legacy of a tainted dynasty is not one to glorify. We must rally behind peace and justice – not injustice.

I wish the best for those victims, all of them, even the ones who are suffering in silence. I hope they can get the help they need to relieve and cope with the trauma Jerry Sandusky has caused them.

If you or someone you know needs treatment for sexual trauma that has caused addiction please call us at (877) 711-HOPE (4673) or visit us online at www.palmpartners.com.

Sources:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/07/23/157222533/penn-state-fined-60m-banned-from-bowls-wins-from-1998-on-vacated?ft=1&f=1001&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

http://abcnews.go.com/US/jerry-sandusky-found-guilty-45-48-sex-abuse/story?id=16623842

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/09/penn-state-scandal-timeline-jerry-sandusky_n_1084204.html