I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. This means that certain things aretriggering for me. Smells, sounds, songs…even the weather on some days. I often have to turn away from news casts, online stories, books, and movies because something that happens in them sets off a visceral reaction in me and reminds me of something that happened in my past. These triggers can be the spark that sets off a reaction that ultimately leads to a depressive episode. I don’t avoid these things because my head is in the sand, I avoid them for my own mental health and the health and well-being of my family.

So, hearing about what is going on at Penn State is, at the very least, very upsetting. It was also something that I could not ignore.

Here’s the short version in case you aren’t following the story:

• In 1977, Jerry Sandusky established The Second Mile, a group home for troubled boys. This organization ultimately evolves into a program that is much more and supports all youth who need additional support and positive adult role models. Through this program, Sandusky works with children. 
• In 1994, he has inappropriate contact with his first reported victim. (This victim does not report this until he is 26, which means he was around 9 years old when the contact occurred.)
• In 1998, it is reported to University police that Sandusky has had contact with two more boys, which starts an investigation with the police department. One victim’s mother, during a phone call recorded by a police detective, is told by Sandusky that he  showered with her son and with other boys. He is investigated by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, where he admits to hugging the boy and says he won’t shower with children again. The district attorney declined to pursue criminal charges, prompted by the head of campus police telling the police to close the inquiry.
• In 1999, Sandusky retires from Penn State. It is unrelated to the inquiry and he is allowed access to facilities on campus. (This will be significant later.)
• In 2000, a janitor witnesses Sandusky abusing a boy in a shower on campus. He tells co-workers and one of them observed that Sandusky’s vehicle was on campus that night. The incident is reported to the janitor’s supervisor, who tells the witness to whom to report the incident.
• In 2002, another witness (this time a graduate assistant) witnesses a boy (possibly around 10 years old) being abused in another shower on campus. He reports the incident to Joe Paterno, coach at Penn State. Paterno, in turn, reports it to Tim Curley, the athletic director of Penn State. Ten days (!!) later, this graduate assistant, Mike McQueary meets with Curley and Gary Schultz, school treasurer and senior vice president. They do not report the incident to authorities or to any child protection agency. Instead, Sandusky’s access to the locker rooms is removed and the incident is reported to The Second Mile.
• In 2009, a mother calls her son’s school and reports that he was sexually abused by Sandusky. The police are notified.
• In 2010, the graduate assistant, who is now an assistant coach at Penn State testifies about the abuse he witnessed and what he reported to Schultz and Curley. One of the victims reports that he has received voice mails from Sandusky, which he does not return. 
• In January of 2011, Curley downplays the allegations, saying that graduate assistant said it was “inappropriate,” and not “sexual” contact, and referred to it as “horsing around.” Schultz says he met with Curley and Paterno about the reports, but says he thought Sandusky and the boy might have been wrestling when the inappropriate contact happened.
• Currently: The public has been made aware of the allegations against Sandusky and he is accused of sexually abusing eight boys between 1994 and 2009. Curley and Schultz are also being investigated for lying to investigators and not reporting the incidents to authorities. They have vacated their jobs and have been arraigned on the charges. 

(Insert statement about people being innocent until proven guilty here.)

My thoughts on this? Every single person at Penn State University who was made aware of this situation should be fired and/or prosecuted. There are eight (and probably many more) victims out there whose lives will never be the same. Had Paterno, Curley, and Schultz been doing their jobs there would be far fewer victims. Those boys (and men) deserved better. Even the witnesses should be sharing in this blame. When a child is being abused, we should refuse to allow it to be kept secret. We should scream from the rooftops until someone hears us. 

We need to send a message to abusers that this will NOT stand. We will protect our children and let nothing stand in the way of their safety. Our children deserve no less.

Please refer to this article from NPR to see my main source for the details of this posting. Other bits of information from the many news stories that have come out about this situation.

The following article has more details of the time line, provided for those who are interested in reading all the disgusting facts.

Penn State Scandal Timeline: Key Dates In The Jerry Sandusky Sex Abuse Case

This is the time line of the case according to the Huffington Post, click HERE for the site.

1969 – Jerry Sandusky starts his coaching career at Penn State University as a defensive line coach.

1977 – Jerry Sandusky founds The Second Mile. It begins as a group foster home dedicated to helping troubled boys and grows into a charity dedicated to helping children with absent or dysfunctional families.

January 1983 – Associated Press voters select Penn State as college football’s national champion for the 1982 season.

January 1987 – Associated Press voters select Penn State as college football’s national champion for the 1986 season.

1994 – Boy known as Victim 7 in the report meets Sandusky through The Second Mile program at about the age of 10.

1994-95 – Boy known as Victim 6 meets Sandusky at a Second Mile picnic at Spring Creek Park when he is 7 or 8 years old.

1995-96 – Boy known as Victim 5, meets Sandusky through The Second Mile when he is 7 or 8, in second or third grade.

1996-97 – Boy known as Victim 4, at the age of 12 or 13, meets Sandusky while he is in his second year participating in The Second Mile program.

1996-98 – Victim 5 is taken to the locker rooms and showers at Penn State by Sandusky when he is 8 to 10 years old.

Jan. 1, 1998 – Victim 4 is listed, along with Sandusky’s wife, as a member of Sandusky’s family party for the 1998 Outback Bowl.

1998 – Victim 6 is taken into the locker rooms and showers when he is 11 years old. When Victim 6 is dropped off at home, his hair is wet from showering with Sandusky. His mother reports the incident to the university police, who investigate.

Detective Ronald Schreffler testifies that he and State College Police Department Detective Ralph Ralston, with the consent of the mother of Victim 6, eavesdrop on two conversations the mother of Victim 6 has with Sandusky. Sandusky says he has showered with other boys and Victim 6’s mother tries to make Sandusky promise never to shower with a boy again but he will not. At the end of the second conversation, after Sandusky is told he cannot see Victim 6 anymore, Schreffler testifies Sandusky says, “I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won’t get it from you. I wish I were dead.”

Jerry Lauro, an investigator with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, testifies he and Schreffler interviewed Sandusky, and that Sandusky admits showering naked with Victim 6, admits to hugging Victim 6 while in the shower and admits that it was wrong.

The case is closed after then-Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar decides there will be no criminal charge.

June 1999 – Sandusky retires from Penn State but still holds emeritus status.

Dec. 28, 1999 – Victim 4 is listed, along with Sandusky’s wife, as a member of Sandusky’s family party for the 1999 Alamo Bowl.

Summer 2000 – Boy known as Victim 3 meets Sandusky through The Second Mile when he is between seventh and eighth grade.

Fall 2000 – A janitor named James Calhoun observes Sandusky in the showers of the Lasch Football Building with a young boy, known as Victim 8, pinned up against the wall, performing oral sex on the boy. He tells other janitorial staff immediately. Fellow Office of Physical Plant employee Ronald Petrosky cleans the showers at Lasch and sees Sandusky and the boy, who he describes as being between the ages of 11 and 13.

Calhoun tells other physical plant employees what he saw, including Jay Witherite, his immediate supervisor. Witherite tells him to whom he should report the incident. Calhoun was a temporary employee and never makes a report. Victim 8’s identity is unknown.

March 1, 2002 – A Penn State graduate assistant enters the locker room at the Lasch Football Building. In the showers, he sees a naked boy, known as Victim 2, whose age he estimates to be 10 years old, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky. The graduate assistant tells his father immediately.

March 2, 2002 – In the morning, the graduate assistant calls Coach Joe Paterno and goes to Paterno’s home, where he reports what he has seen.

March 3, 2002 – Paterno calls Tim Curley, Penn State Athletic Director to his home the next day and reports a version of what the grad assistant had said.

March 2002 – Later in the month the graduate assistant is called to a meeting with Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz. The grad assistant reports what he has seen and Curley and Schultz say they will look into it.

March 27, 2002 (approximate) – The graduate assistant hears from Curley. He is told that Sandusky’s locker room keys are taken away and that the incident has been reported to The Second Mile. The graduate assistant is never questioned by university police and no other entity conducts an investigation until the graduate assistant testifies in Grand Jury in December 2010.

2005-2006 – Boy known as Victim 1 says that meets Sandusky through The Second Mile at age 11 or 12.

Spring 2007 – During the 2007 track season, Sandusky begins spending time with Victim 1 weekly, having him stay overnight at his residence in College Township, Pa.

Spring 2008 – Termination of contact with Victim 1 occurs when he is a freshman in a Clinton County high school. After the boy’s mother calls the school to report sexual assault, Sandusky is barred from the school district attended by Victim 1 from that day forward and the matter is reported to authorities as mandated by law.

Early 2009 – An investigation by the Pennsylvania attorney general begins when a Clinton County, Pa. teen boy tells authorities that Sandusky has inappropriately touched him several times over a four-year period.

September 2010 – Sandusky retires from day-to-day involvement with The Second Mile, saying he wants to spend more time with family and handle personal matters.

Nov. 5, 2011 – Sandusky is arrested and released on $100,000 bail after being arraigned on 40 criminal counts.

Nov. 7, 2011 – Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly says Paterno is not a target of the investigation into how the school handled the accusations. But she refuses to say the same for university President Graham Spanier. Curley and Schultz, who have stepped down from their positions, surrender on charges that they failed to alert police to complaints against Sandusky.

Nov. 8, 2011 – Possible ninth victim of Sandusky contacts state police as calls for ouster of Paterno and Spanier grow in state and beyond. Penn State abruptly cancels Paterno’s regular weekly press conference.

Nov. 9, 2011 – Paterno announces he’ll retire at the end of the season.