Penn State’s legendary defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is being
investigated for accusations of indecent assault against a teenage boy. A grand jury has been hearing testimony for the past 18 months connected to a 15-year old’s allegations that Sandusky inappropriately touched a teenage boy multiple times over a four year period. The grand jury hearing is used by courts and prosecutors to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence for a criminal charge. This is a disturbing accusation that follows a similar accusation made by another boy against Sandusky back in 1998.
Penn State’s head coach Joe Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley, retired university Vice President and Treasurer Gary Schultz were among those who appeared before the grand jury in January over the case.
Last fall, Sandusky announced that he was retiring from day-to-day involvement in the charity [The Second Mile] to spend more time with family and handle personal matters. Since then, rumors of misconduct by Sandusky have lit up Internet comment threads and message boards that are normally havens for Penn State football fan chatter.
Being a key figure in The Second Mile, Sandusky is exposed to and involved with over 10,000 Pennsylvanian youths a year through summer and year round camps programs. Even as we speak following 18 months of a grand jury hearing, the Attorney General’s office has still not determined whether Sandusky has done anything inappropriate. Though I refuse to speculate over the details of the case until a trial is concluded, Mike has a nice
breakdown of the possible legal ramifications for Penn State and Jerry Sandusky himself.
Sandusky has also released a statement through his lawyer concerning the matter:
While Jerry has been aware of an ongoing investigation by the Attorney General’s Office for many months dating back to 2009, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout this ordeal. In his many years of service as a football coach and in his almost daily involvement since 1977 with The Second Mile, which helps thousands of kids at risk each year, Jerry has dedicated his life to helping young people develop into solid, community-oriented, and successful young adults.
Should the allegations as set forth in today’s newspaper article eventually lead to the institution of criminal charges against Jerry, Jerry fully intends to establish his innocence and put these false allegations to rest forever.
The man is innocent until proven guilty. And given that The Second Mile was founded by Sandusky way back in 1977, 34 years with close to 10,000 youths in a given year is
alot of exposure to children. Though these are tough allegations, I can only hope the man that has successfully run The Second Mile for 33 years will be exonerated from these accusations.