Jerry Sandusky Busted/Paterno did NOTHING to prevent him from continuing his assault on children.

[OFFNY]

By stature I meant that Paterno might have a coat of Teflon' date=' since the AG has publicly said he did the right thing. After reading more details, [b']it appears that while Paterno didn't do anything illegal, he didn't do the right thing either.[/b] Thanks for sharing the other article, disturbing as it was.

I'm almost positive that he did do something illegal if he did not tell the authorities. It's a crime if you know/suspect that a child is being abused and don't promptly report it to the authorities (the police, and or child protective services). Unlike the military, there is no chain of command that Paterno is bound to regarding this area, so he can't simply use the (lame) excuse that he told his superiors at Penn State University about it, and left it at that.

[mweb]

It can be argued' date=' morally for sure, but the letter of the law probably says that by telling a superior, everyone up to the AD and VP are in the clear. And maybe since Sandusky was no longer a PSU employee at the time, perhaps that clears Paterno legally. Had Sandusky still been on his staff, hence Paterno would have been his boss, I wonder if that would have made a difference in Paterno not going to the authorities himself?[/quote']

Wouldn't Sandusky no longer being an employee mean even more the reason for Paterno to report it to the authorities? Why tell his superior about actions that a non-employee is engaging in?

Plus Paterno already knew of past incidents that hadn't been reported by the same superior and others.

I don't know the specifics of the law obviously, but as you mention, at least from a moral perspective, this is pretty damning for a legendary coach that has been perceived to be a great guy.

[Icterus galbula]

I have nothing to add. Just disgusting and despicable. I'm not so sure that Paterno will be able to avoid tarnish here.

[Birds of B'more]

If Paterno was aware of the 1998 investigation (and hard to believe he wouldn't be, what kind of investigation wouldn't interview the suspect's boss?) then yeah, he has no excuse for not acting on the 2002 incident. I don't know enough about the law to know whether or not Paterno is legally immune just because he told his bosses, but I would have to imagine based on the AG's comments he is. And if he isn't, then the AG should be hauled off to jail with the whole lot of them.

[BaltimoreTerp]

This is going to make a killer series finale episode of Law and Order: SVU this spring...

This is absolutely stunning. That may be one of those words that gets used way too much in the modern vernacular, but it is true. I was looking over the SBB Twitter feed earlier and I was actually, honestly stunned.

Just the allegations on their own are awful enough. Add in the facts that the accused man is a legendary coach in his own right (let alone his Paterno connection), that they happened at Penn State over what appears to be a very long period of time, and that they happened on the watch of arguably both the greatest and the most-clean football coach of all time, and the entire series of revelations becomes too much to handle at once.

Both the athletic director and the school official in question are gone. They have to be. The pair not only were where the buck stopped (based on the official chain of command), but if what is said is true lied under oath about what they knew. The school president might be going down as well. He hitched his own reputation to those two with his statement.

Paterno. Can he survive this? My first thoughts on his involvement are that he was trying to protect someone who was not only his right-hand man and successor at one time, but probably a close friend. It will be interesting to see if anything comes out beyond Paterno informing the athletic director as well as the director of the charity Sandusky used for access to these boys.

I think he may feel that he has to leave, even if there isn't any real pressure from forces in the university, government or outside media, simply because he won't feel like he can ask a family to trust him with their son anymore. That would be a shame, but it may be necessary.

[OFFNY]

O

I was able to dig this up. Assuming that Paterno knew or suspected the abuse, he is/was required to tell the authorities ....... however, the penalty for failure to do so is almost non-existent.

To Whom Reported: Department of Public Welfare of the Commonwealth.

Penalty for Failure to Report or False Reporting: Summary offense for 1st violation; misdemeanor in 3rd degree for 2nd and subsequent offenses.

http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/child-abuse/pennsylvania/

[mweb]

This is going to make a killer series finale episode of Law and Order: SVU this spring...

This is absolutely stunning. That may be one of those words that gets used way too much in the modern vernacular, but it is true. I was looking over the SBB Twitter feed earlier and I was actually, honestly stunned.

Just the allegations on their own are awful enough. Add in the facts that the accused man is a legendary coach in his own right (let alone his Paterno connection), that they happened at Penn State over what appears to be a very long period of time, and that they happened on the watch of arguably both the greatest and the most-clean football coach of all time, and the entire series of revelations becomes too much to handle at once.

Both the athletic director and the school official in question are gone. They have to be. The pair not only were where the buck stopped (based on the official chain of command), but if what is said is true lied under oath about what they knew. The school president might be going down as well. He hitched his own reputation to those two with his statement.

Paterno. Can he survive this? My first thoughts on his involvement are that he was trying to protect someone who was not only his right-hand man and successor at one time, but probably a close friend. It will be interesting to see if anything comes out beyond Paterno informing the athletic director as well as the director of the charity Sandusky used for access to these boys.

I think he may feel that he has to leave, even if there isn't any real pressure from forces in the university, government or outside media, simply because he won't feel like he can ask a family to trust him with their son anymore. That would be a shame, but it may be necessary.

Good post.

I actually disagree with that last line though. At least based on what I know now, I don't think Paterno should be allowed to continue coaching. You state that you think he was protecting his friend, well in this situation, that is an awful thing to do imo. This is on multiple people other than the culprit, and they should all pay in some way or another. There is no valid excuse for the people at PSU to allow this man to continue his actions until 2002, nonetheless 2011.

[Birds of B'more]

Here's a possibility....perhaps Paterno's legal culpability in this was enough of a gray area that the AG cut a deal with him to grant immunity in exchange for testimony. The pennlive.com article stated Paterno would testify for the prosecution. The AG may have felt that having Paterno as his key witness would be a powerful influence on a jury, while naming him in the case may do the opposite.

[OFFNY]

Here's a possibility .... perhaps Peterno's legal culpability in this was enough of a gray area that the AG cut a deal with him to grant immunity in exchange for testimony. The pennlive.com article stated Paterno would testify for the prosecution. The AG may have felt that having Paterno as his key witness would be a powerful influence on a jury' date=' while naming him in the case may do the opposite.[/quote']

I think you are correct. :thumbsup1: Paterno may not face any legal ramifications, but he certainly will in the court of public opinion, which to him, is probably even more important.

O

[mweb]

Here's a possibility....perhaps Peterno's legal culpability in this was enough of a gray area that the AG cut a deal with him to grant immunity in exchange for testimony. The pennlive.com article stated Paterno would testify for the prosecution. The AG may have felt that having Paterno as his key witness would be a powerful influence on a jury' date=' while naming him in the case may do the opposite.[/quote']

Plus, OFFNY's post suggests that even if found guilty, the punishment would be minimal.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Good post.

I actually disagree with that last line though. At least based on what I know now, I don't think Paterno should be allowed to continue coaching. You state that you think he was protecting his friend, well in this situation, that is an awful thing to do imo. This is on multiple people other than the culprit, and they should all pay in some way or another. There is no valid excuse for the people at PSU to allow this man to continue his actions until 2002, nonetheless 2011.

Oh, you're absolutely right. I was trying to put it respectfully towards Paterno without sounding like I was giving him a pass (obviously I didn't succeed ), but I do think that protecting someone, even a friend, is no excuse.

It would still be a shame to see him leave even under these circumstances.

[OFFNY]

Oh, you're absolutely right. I was trying to put it respectfully towards Paterno without sounding like I was giving him a pass (obviously I didn't succeed ), but I do think that protecting someone, even a friend, is no excuse.

It would still be a shame to see him leave even under these circumstances.

Perhaps, but to me, the bigger shame is that Paterno, who has been highly regarded as both a person and a coach, chose to turn a blind eye to an awful crime ........ considerably worse than looking the other way when your players are getting paid under the table, receiving gifts illegally, etc.

[mweb]

Perhaps, but to me, the bigger shame is that Paterno, who has been highly regarded as both a person and a coach, chose to turn a blind eye to an awful crime ........ considerably worse than looking the other way when your players are getting paid under the table, receiving gifts illegally, etc.

I agree and on that note, I wonder if the NCAA will do anything about this?

[Birds of B'more]

I agree and on that note, I wonder if the NCAA will do anything about this?

I highly doubt it. Nor should they, as long as Paterno resigns. This is an issue for the judiciary system, not the NCAA. Besides, what good will come out of this by punishing the current players?

[mweb]

I highly doubt it. Nor should they' date=' as long as Paterno resigns. This is an issue for the judiciary system, not the NCAA. [b']Besides, what good will come out of this by punishing the current players?[/b]

That can be said about a lot of punishments from the NCAA.

This is another case where I don't know the rules, but I would think a case can me made for punishment based on them allowing Sandusky to bring boys around the program (facilities, bowl games, practices) after PSU knew about the initial investigation. Maybe not, but to me that is something that should be punished by them at least as much as a guy getting some financial benefits that someone with the program found about after the fact and didn't report.