Diary 3 in a series about the rush to judgment in the Sandusky Sex Scandal. I'm not defending Sandusky but I am asking you reconsider any vilification of Joe Paterno and the people at Penn State so rampant in opinions broadcast and in print by a media bent on proving how holier-than-thou they can be. Take a few minutes to consider what was known in March of 2002 without the 23 page 40 count indictment of Sandusky. At that time Jerry Sandusky is well known as Founder of the effective and popular Second Mile charity established in 1977 and foster father of six who has helped thousands of disadvantaged kids. We now know that was a devious and clever cover for his pedophilia but no one knew it or had good reason to suspect it at that time.
This is not a popular opinion and I have been vilified for even bringing it to your attention. I stand firm in knowing this is a story that needs to be heard and as a Tennessee grad with no ties to Penn State and no love for Joe Paterno I choose to tell it so it cannot be claimed it is out of some false loyalty. I believe Joe Paterno and the Penn State people may have done the right thing at the time given what they knew about this clever monster and that involving police would not have made a difference. I believe that from reading every story and all the evidence. At the very least it is irresponsible to blame Joe Paterno and the institution before all the facts are known. Perhaps something will be learned at trial to alter this opinion but we should not rush to judge what we do not fully know.
I find the Attorney Generals website featuring the Attorney General's Press Release on the Sandusky case is a study in misrepresentation of facts and truth.
We should blame this misrepresentation on an overzealous prosecutor in charge of the Grand Jury investigation for the language in the Grand Jury Presentment that was laughably wide of the mark in it's misleading description of the testimony of Mike McQueary. The Press Release by Attorney General Linda Harris leaves no doubt that the intentionally distorted Finding of Fact in the Presentment was a product of the woman in charge.
Now that we know about the $25,000 donated to the campaign of now Gov. Corbett during the year he investigated Sandusky following the complaint of Victim 1 we have more reason to question the motives of the Attorney General.
Attorney General Kelly and PA State Police Commissioner Noonan issue statements regarding Jerry Sandusky sex crimes investigation. Why would the Attorney General devote over 60% of her press release to the issues involved in the Victim 2 section of the Grand Jury Presentment and exclude or reduce emphasis on the 8 victims who testified against Jerry Sandusky?
In this Press Release the Attorney General makes it clear that the identity of Victim 2 is unknown. That requires the State to prove a case against Jerry Sandusky for child molestation or corruption without a victim based on Mike McQueary's 1 or 2 second glances and 3 slaps described as Rhythmic Slapping Sounds. The Attorney General has 8 actual victims and their stories and willing testimony to use to convict Mr.Sandusky. Surely that testimony is far more compelling than the wide range of beliefs and suspicions of Mr. McQueary.
McQueary has testified to his "belief" in witnessing either molesting, fondling, intercourse of some kind, or something 'extremely sexual' but he is unspecific. He has stated under oath he is not 100% certain. That means this witness has reasonable doubt and no jury can convict if reasonable doubt exists. So it seems this emphasis on the McQueary testimony is actually detrimental to the prosecution of Sandusky. It raises reasonable doubt that could potentially poison a jury against the prosecution and the testimony of the actual victims.
The Attorney General has caused Perjury charges to be brought against Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice-President Gary Schultz base on a difference in recollections of words used in a 10 minute meeting between McQueary, Curley and Schultz over a 45 second locker room visit nine years in the past. The absurdity of that seems incredible to me.
Based on Perjury Hearing testimony under oath we know what Mike McQueary experienced in his own words. What we don't know is what exactly he said to Curley and Schultz in that long ago 10 minute meeting. The only people who do know are Curley, Schultz and McQueary since there are no notes or recordings. To maintain a perjury charge there must be corroboration and there is none. The defense has a variety of statements made by McQueary but only what was said to Curley and Schultz is relevant and it's 2 men against Mike when it comes to that. These charges are a sham and disgrace. They cannot be sustained. So what is the purpose? Is it a distraction with a purpose?
Does making this case about Penn State and Paterno give the press some big game to chew on instead of delving into what the Governor knew and why he dragged his feet as Attorney General?
Based on this press release the major element of the Attorney General's case is wrapped up in the Victim 2 charges where no victim has come forward to prosecutors and the defense claims the alleged victim swears he was not molested or assaulted that night. So given the mass of graphic testimony from actual victims why does the Attorney General devote such passion and intensity on the victim 2 charges that implicate Penn State and Paterno? It seems to be by far the weakest part of her case.
HARRISBURG - Attorney General Linda Kelly and Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan today issued the following statements concerning the ongoing Jerry Sandusky sex crimes investigation:
Equally significant, however, is the role that several top Penn State University administrators, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President of Business and Finance Gary Schultz, played in this matter, allegedly failing to report suspected child abuse and later providing false testimony and false statements to the grand jury that was investigating this case
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This claim of 'false testimony' is based on a difference in words used to describe a 45 second event in a 10 minute meeting 9 years in the past.
The incident which occurred in 2002 at Lasch Hall where Sandusky was seen committing a sexual assault on a young boy of about ten years of age, was reported to University officials by a graduate assistant who happened to be in the building late one Friday evening.
Sandusky was not seen committing a sexual assault. Mike McQueary testified that he could not SEE insertion or penetration or the genitals of Sandusky touching the boy. Mike McQueary could not see the hands of Sandusky. What we have is McQueary's belief that either molesting, or fondling, or some kind of intercourse, or something extremely sexual was happening in the 1 to 2 second glance at Jerry Sandusky's back because McQueary heard "Rhythmic Slapping Sounds" consisting of 3 hand claps
Those officials, to whom it was reported, did not report the incident to law enforcement or any child protective agency, and their inaction likely allowed a child predator to continue to victimize children for many more years.
Actually Mike McQueary's father Dr John McQueary and his partner and friend Dr. Jonathan Dranov also did not report the incident to police and they told Mike McQueary not to call police. And theinvestigation of Sandusky began in 2008 with victim 1's complaint went on for 3 years without any action being taken to arrest or contain Sandusky. Who was victimized during that period of time? A report to police in 1998 ended in no charges and Sandusky being cleared for an incident almost identical to the 2002 incident. "We had been down that road before" said Gary Schultz. There is not real reason to expect a call to police about a couple of brief glances and 3 slaps would have resulted in anything different since the alleged victim appears to have said he was not a victim of anything.
The grand jury heard some very graphic and compelling testimony from key witnesses in this case - including the graduate assistant who told them what he saw in the shower and Penn State football coach Joe Paterno-- men who saw or heard about the sexual assault of that young boy in the football locker room and reported that incident to top administrators at the university.
Mike's testimony of actual observation is not compelling - only his suspicions that are not in sync with his observations. The Attorney General's description of a 1 to 2 second glimpse of Sandusky's back and 3 claps as "graphic and compelling" is just laughable.
The grand jury also heard testimony from others at the university, including the defendants, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President Gary Schultz, who are now charged with making false statements about what they knew, making statements that were not credible and failing to report suspected child abuse.
In this case, it is alleged that top administration officials at Penn State University, Curley and Schultz, after receiving a report of the sexual assault of a young boy in a Lasch Hall shower by Sandusky from both a graduate assistant and the coach of the Penn State football team not only failed to report the incident, as required by law, but never made any attempt to identify that child.
Sandusky was not seen committing a sexual assault on a young boy and the "graphic compelling testimony" if so full of holes it sinks under the weight of it's own contradictions. This press release is another example of egregious overstatement by the Attorney General concerning the testimony of one Mike McQueary. If anything the Attorney General should be investigated for inflating Mike's testimony to the point of ruining Joe Paterno's reputation.
The more we see revealed the more we know the truth and the worse the AG, the BOT and the media look.
Penn State students and alumni and those who support Coach Joe Paterno should demand an explanation of Attorney General Linda Harris for her wording in this press release. The Attorney General had to know her inflammatory overblown description of Mike McQueary's testimony would do serious damage to the reputations of Joe Paterno and Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice-President Gary Schultz and they would serve no purpose in the prosecution of the cases of the real victims of Sandusky.
So it appears there must be some ulterior motive for the AG. Was she making these explosive indefensible assertions in order to deflect public opinion and press inquiries into questionable campaign donations or some foot dragging in a 3 year investigation prior to the bringing of charges? Sandusky could have been arrested as soon as victim 1 came forward and his testimony and it's publication would have likely resulted in the other's coming forward much earlier. Have some victims lost their lives or has the statute of limitations run out over these three years? How much money went to the Governor and AG from Second Mile and it's board members besides the $25,000 we know about?
Waiting until Joe Paterno aged another three years in this stage of life puts 3 more years of distance on a diminished memory and makes the perjury cases even less likely to be viable adding a third more time in distance from the actual events.
The Attorney General with reckless disregard for fairness and accuracy made statements so far out of line with what Mike McQueary witnessed and testified to under oath so far from reality a serious question is raised concerning her reasoning skills and mental competence. No reasonable person could possibly read Mike McQueary's Perjury Hearing testimony and arrive a the descriptions used by the Attorney General.
If this is descriptive of her level of competence the citizens of Pennsylvania should be very concerned about her ability to convict Jerry Sandusky on the counts of the Presentment that have significant merit. Those counts that do not include the flimsey Victim 2 evidence. Her behavior raises serious questions about her motives and opens the state to charges of libel, slander and gross defamation of character.
Prior to commenting on this diary you should read this story
Following the March 1, 2002 incident Mike told 5 people some version of what he experienced and that was not that he saw a boy being subjected to anal intercourse.
His father Dr. John McQueary M.D.
Family friend Dr Jonathan Dranov M.D.
Head PSU football coach Joe Paterno
Athletic Director Tim Curley
Senior Vice President Gary Schultz
None of them told him to call the police - not even his father
and his father's close friend and business associate Dr Jonathan Dranov M.D. specifically told him not to call police with that story
Get this straight before you start your comments. I think Jerry Sandusky is a very clever and devious monster who set up an elaborate scheme in order to hide is pedophilia. He founded a popular and effective charity in 1977, 25 years prior to this March 1, 2002 event. He was well known for that and being foster father of six.
Yet so many here - evident from the comments in my first diary exposing the lie in the grand jury presentment that made this the Penn State Sex Scandal - are just plain certain they would have known and done the right thing that Joe Paterno did not do. Joe Paterno told the people in the administration above him what Mike McQueary told him and that was exactly what Joe should have done.
You have the benefit of a 23 page 40 count summary of allegations designed to justify and indictment. You assume as I do that Sandusky is a monster. But that was not the assumption in 2002 when Sandusky was more likely to be assumed a saint for his selfless charity work and fostering six kids.
Try to keep that in mind when you comment.
I write this in defense of Joe Paterno and the good people at Penn State who have been vilified because a clever and devious monster showed up in their midst. He could just as easily have showed up in yours and you could be subject to this same rush to judgment based on misleading statements in a Grand Jury Presentment.
This is the third diary in this series of complicated stories
The First was Grand Jury and Media Manufactured PSU Sex Scandal
The Second The Rhythm of Reasonable Doubt
I assure you they were not written to condone Sandusky or to cause harm to the cause of the eight victims who bravely came forward. In fact just the opposite. I feel that the Attorney Generals fixation on the non-existent victim 2 will harm the strong case against Sandusky the monster by introducing reasonable doubt into the trial and calling into question the characterizations in the misleading Presentment Victim 2 section.
Sandusky was a very clever and devious monster who for 25 years ran a charity for underprivileged kids and fostered six kids himself. He was almost above reproach. He often took kids to his workouts and showered with them afterwards as you might do with your sons or grandsons.