I’m
reposting my 2011 piece because the mainstream press is now labeling
accusations of pedophilia “a conservative strategy to attack Democrats.”
Really? Here we go:
ACCUSED PEDOPHILE'S CHILD CHARITY
NOVEMBER
12, 2011. Former Penn State football coach, pedophile Jerry Sandusky,
started The Second Mile, a charity for at-risk children, in
1977. Sandusky is now accused of 40 criminal counts related to child
sexual abuse. A witness states he saw Sandusky raping a young boy in the
Penn State locker room, in 2002.
The
Second Mile, on its site, claims it has helped 100,000 children in
Pennsylvania. So far, Sandusky is the only accused pedophile.
To
understand the reach of Second Mile and its prestige and influence in
the state of Pennsylvania, and therefore to see how the current
investigation could be narrowed or blocked, it's instructive to note its
supporters. Most of these names have now been removed from the
charity's site, but before that happened they were saved by at least
several people. A poster at HawkeyeNation[dot]com has put up many
names. I found a few myself on Second Mile pages.
For
example, Second Mile holds what it calls Challenge Residential
Weeks. They are mini-camps for kids. They're sponsored by Bank of
America, The Hershey Corporation, Walmart, and Warnaco, whose leading
brand is Calvin Klein.
Other
companies show up peripherally, not directly, through individuals who
work for them or did work for them and support or work for Second Mile:
* JPMorganChase
* PriceWaterhouse
* Heritage Hills Golf Resort
* Philadelphia Phillies
* Quaker State
* Highmark Blue Shield
* Susquehanna Bank
Then there are people who have held honorary status at Second Mile:
* Former Notre Dame football coach, Lou Holtz
* Philadelphia Eagles coach, And Reid
* Golf legend Arnold Palmer
* Actor Mark Wahlberg
*
Matt Millen, former NFL player and current ESPN analyst (Millen was an
unpaid “director” of an honorary board who possibly had duties at Second
Mile)
* Fired Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno
* Baseball legend Cal Ripken
* Franco Harris, former Pittsburgh Steelers star
* Jack Ham, former Steelers star
* John Cappelletti, former NFL player
* Dick Vermeil, former NFL coach
I found four people who are Penn State employees:
* Professor Ralph Licastro
* Professor Bob Ricketts
* Susan Rao, who works in a science laboratory
* Jeff Smith
I'm in no way suggesting that any of these people are involved in the current Sandusky investigation or anything else untoward.
But
it helps to understand the landscape. The very presence of these
important names could result in someone, somewhere deciding it's better
to keep the Sandusky investigation on its single rail, and minimize
efforts to find out what else, if anything, has been going on at Second
Mile, or at Penn State.
Consider
the furor that has been aroused by what has happened so far. The
prospect, for law enforcement, for Penn State, for Second Mile, if
another or other pedophiles exist is daunting, to say to the least. The
repercussions could turn the tremors of an earthquake into a volcano.
In
the years leading up to the arrest of accused child molester, Jerry
Sandusky, there were not only clues, there were reports. The most stark
report came from then-graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, who stated he
saw Sandusky raping a young boy in the showers of the Penn State locker
room, in 2002.
McQueary
told his father, told Joe Paterno, the football coach, who then passed
some version of what he was told to his boss---and so on and so forth,
all the way up to the president of Penn State.
Where, apparently, nothing was done. The police certainly didn't take action.
And
then for nine years, Sandusky was free to come to Penn State and use
the facilities, although he had already been retired from coaching
(1999). He was sometimes in the company of children.
No one did anything.
McQueary
rose to the position of assistant coach on the football team. He saw
Sandusky, between 2002 and 2011, many times on campus. So did head coach
Paterno. It is assumed that Paterno's bosses also knew Sandusky had
access to sports facilities at the college.
How to explain all this?
A psychological state of denial? Some sort of frozen indifference? Fear of spoiling the reputation of the college?
Although
one or more of those reasons might be relevant, perhaps they're too
easy. Perhaps there is more to this than meets the eye.
Suppose
these men were aware that the pedophile activity was far-reaching and
involved other men? Suppose that was the real secret. And still is.
Yes,
this is speculation. Certainly. But so is every other attempt to
explain the apparent unconcern about Sandusky, who was on campus mere
days before his arrest last week.
Suppose
the prospect of, say, going to the police or the press about Sandusky
meant the possibility of pulling back the curtain on other pedophiles,
other boys, other connections---something so extensive it could never be
lived down. Suppose, for example, other pedophiles were (and are) heavy
hitters with more power and money and influence than a mere assistant
football coach (Sandusky).
A
similar paralysis infected Second Mile. Its attorney, Wendell Courtney,
saw a 1998 police report indicating that Sandusky had showered with two
boys. Although no charges were filed against Sandusky at the time,
Second Mile could have removed him from all activities involving
children. That is exactly what the charity did in 2008, when Sandusky
informed the board that he was being investigated about yet another
incident with a boy.
In
1998, the local police worked a sting on Sandusky. They listened to him
him talking on the phone to the mother of one of the boys Sandusky
showered with. During the call, Sandusky admitted what he did---but for
reasons still not understood, the prosecuting attorney, Gricar, and
Child Protective Services dropped the investigation. Why? (Gricar
disappeared in 2005 and has never been seen again. He has been declared
dead.)
To
this point, we have heard nothing about photos or videos Sandusky may
have possessed. Certainly, the police have searched his home and
office. What did they find?
So
far, when the press comments on the intransigence of Penn State and
Second Mile officials, the statements are expressions of shock and moral
outrage and puzzlement. It's time to move past that and consider that
there may be real explanations here.
Second
Mile may be forced to close its doors. Moody's has indicated that the
bond rating of Penn State could suffer from this scandal. All because of
the activity of one accused pedophile. Imagine what would happen, in
this regard, if there are other pedophiles who are part of Sandusky's
operation.
More reasons to try to limit the investigation to Sandusky.
---end of 2011 article---
Does that pedophile case sound like nothing more than “a conservative strategy to attack Democrats?”
Wikipedia:
“In 2011, following a two-year grand jury investigation, Sandusky was
arrested and charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse of young boys over a
15-year period from 1994 to 2009. He met his molestation victims
through The Second Mile [the charity he founded]; they [the children]
were participating in the organization. Several of them testified
against Sandusky in his sexual abuse trial. Four of the charges were
subsequently dropped. On June 22, 2012, Sandusky was found guilty on 45
of the 48 remaining charges. Sandusky was sentenced on October 9, 2012,
to 30 to 60 years in prison.”
~~~
(Episode 12 of Rappoport Podcasts -- "Viruses That Don't Exist" -- is now posted on my substack. It's a blockbuster. To listen, click here. To learn more about This Episode of Rappoport Podcasts, click here.)
~~~
(The link to this article posted on my blog is here.)
(Follow me on Substack, Twitter, and Gab at @jonrappoport)
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