Pennsylvania State University appears to have abandoned its primary duty to protect the children on its campus. The betrayal of its community and its children is shocking. Its football facilities appear to have been used for an ongoing series of child rapes by football coach Joe Paterno’s longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky. Two high-ranking university officials have been arrested for keeping the rapes unreported to law enforcement. That’s called a coverup where I come from. It would seem that a graduate student told a Grand Jury that he witnessed a 10 year old boy being raped in the football locker room. His decision at the time was to allow the rape to continue. Later on he says he went to coach Paterno’s home to discuss the episode with him. Paterno says he reported the allegations to university athletic director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, the senior vice president of finance and business.
WHAT!!??
I’m sorry, but my jaw just hit the desk. Let’s go over that again. A graduate student witnesses the rape of a child and walks away. Goes to Joe Paterno’s house to discuss it! Joe Paterno goes to school administrators! No one calls the police! No one walks into the locker room, pulls the rapist off the child and beats his head against a wall. Are these guys kidding? There’s no use in this world for men who cannot help a child being raped. The rapist is an obvious psychopath and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. That’s for sure. But these other men, Paterno included, have proven themselves to be unable to muster the small amount of strength required to stand up for a child. It should have been easy to walk in and stop that rape. It should have been a reflex. This graduate student continues to work for the university for 9 years without talking about the crime he witnessed. Well this fellow quite obviously serves no useful purpose in civilization. His departure would go unnoticed. The same for Paterno. You, sir, should be somewhat more than ashamed. You could go apply for work at the Vatican which, along with Penn State University, seems to run an efficient child rape network.
I am free to say that because high-ranking university officials have been charged with leaving the alleged crime unreported to police. This puts the official posture of the university as being one of active coverup. It seems probable that knowledge of the alleged crimes will be more widespread in the university than currently understood.
One thing you can count on – if it had been one of Paterno’s grandchildren getting raped in that locker room, he most certainly would have called the police. He didn’t because he just didn’t give a shit.
The disgusting refusal by grown men to defend a child warrants not only the immediate dismissal of Joe Paterno, but also the closing down of the school’s football program at least until a very thorough investigation deeper into the university’s structure can be completed.
The only correct posture when you see a kid being raped is physical violence against the perpetrator followed by a call to 911. Whatever Joe Paterno might say in the next few days to defend himself, ignore him and remember that defending a child from rape is a very simple and easy decision to make.