"Here's what we do if someone comes to me with an accusation of sexual abuse: I pick up the phone and call the cops." William Thornton, SBC Plodder----------------------
"I did what I was supposed to with the one charge brought to my attention", Joe Paterno
---------------------
While Joe Paterno has escaped legal jeopardy for now because he did report the offense to his superior, is that really what we expect from a guy like Paterno? The man who IS Penn State football, the face of college football, the best he could do was to call his athletic director? Paterno is now saying he didn't know the details of what happened when he was told....DO WHAT??? All he needed to know was that a 59-year old man was naked in the shower with a 10 year old boy, and he should have been on the phone with the police. But he didn't do it.
If you're the janitor and you walk in and see Sandusky performing oral sex on an 11-year old (which did happen in the case of victim #8 in the grand jury report), ok, maybe the best we can expect is for you to report it to your supervisor...but Joe Pa, the best he could do was report it up the chain? It is ridiculous.
But let me tell you what Sandusky did to this 10-year old boy in the incident that is the focus of the allegations. From the grand jury report here is what was reported under oath concerning the rape of "Victim #2" (warning, the following indented material is graphic; do not read it unless you want to know the truth about what this deranged pervert actually did to this boy):
"As the graduate assistant entered the locker room, he was surprised to find the lights and showers on. He then heard rhythmic slapping sounds. He believed those to be the sound of sexual activity....He saw a naked boy, Victim 2, whose age he estimated to be ten years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky."I'm sorry if that offended you. But sometimes the bland reports of "molestation" don't really do justice to the sinister nature of the actual act itself. This 59-year old man used his notoriety and wealth and his connection to Penn State football to gain access to this boy and others...so that he ultimately could hold a 10-year old boy against the wall of a shower and violently rape him in the Penn State football locker room.
Now, if you read the grand jury report, you will see that the graduate assistant who witnessed this violent rape called his father as he was understandably shaken by what he saw. Instead of calling the police, they called Paterno. Mistake #1. This graduate assistant witnessed a violent rape - what if it was the rape of a woman and not a boy? Would he go call his dad? Of course not, he would either intervene with force of his own, or he would immediately call 9-1-1 and not let the perpetrator get away.
Church members, let this be a lesson to you: don't ever, ever, report sexual abuse at your church or by a member or minister, to the pastor or to a minister or deacon or trustee. They cannot be trusted to do the right thing. Any person, whether it is a head football coach or a minister or a school administrator, who has a vested interest in the institution that is somehow connected to the victim or perpetrator, can't be trusted with the information!! As William Thornton wrote today about this, there is only one thing to do when you hear of sexual abuse: stop, pick up your cell phone, and call your local police department. Report what you saw or heard, and let THEM investigate. If they need to tell your pastor, they will.
Now, back to Paterno: you might say that he didn't know the nature of the offense that the graduate assistant saw. That is what Paterno basically said in his statement Sunday night. But that doesn't square with the grand jury report. From the grand jury report:
"Joseph V. Paterno testified to receiving the graduate assistant's report at his home on a Saturday morning. Paterno testified that the graduate assistant was very upset. Paterno called Tim Curley, Penn State Athletic Director and Paterno's immediate supervisor, to his home the very next day, and reported to him that the graduate assistant had seen Jerry Sandusky in the Lasch Building showers fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy."Did you read that? Paterno knew of at least "fondling" or "something of a sexual nature" that Sandusky was doing to a young boy. What more evidence did he need to know a crime had occured against a helpless young boy in the showers of the Penn State football program?
But now Paterno defends his inaction by saying:
"It was obvious that the witness [the graduate assistant] was distraught over what he saw, but he at no time related to me the very specific actions contained in the grand jury report."What does "very specific" mean? The grand jury report says that he knew Sandusky was in the showers "fondling" or doing something sexual to a young boy. Do you see how twisted this is? Paterno is now saying he didn't know how bad it was...implying he WOULD HAVE reported it if he knew more details?
Here is perhaps the most shocking part of the grand jury report:
"Approximately one and a half weeks later, the graduate assistant was called to a meeting with Penn State Athletic Director Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz. The graduate assistant reported to Curley and Schultz that he had witnessed what he believed to be Sandusky having anal sex with a boy in the Lasch Building showers. Curley and Shultz assured the graduate assistant that they would look into it and determine what further action they would take. Paterno was not present for this meeting.Do you know who at Penn State University oversaw and had ultimate responsibility for the University Police department. Yep, Gary Schultz, one of the first men who was brought into this story by the Athletic Director. Like I said, don't ever report your abuse to people connected to the institution.
The graduate assistant heard back from Curley a couple of weeks later. He was told that Sandusky's keys to the locker room were taken away and that the incident had been reported to The Second Mile. The graduate assistant was never questioned by University Police and no other entity conducted an investigation until he testified in Grand Jury, December 2010."
So yes, Joe Paterno should be fired. If Jim Tressel should be fired, if Woody Hayes should have been fired, so should Joe Pa for failing miserably to do the right thing. No one cared to even find out who the victim was. All they cared about was the reputation of their precious institution.
And so it is with the institutions of government, religion, and education.
Report sexual abuse to the police department, don't go to the coach, the preacher, the teacher, or your boss.
Go straight to the cops.
38 comments:
It's not just molestation. It is RAPE. What kind of a moral degenerate is McQueary, former Penn State QB AND the grad assistant who saw the RAPE happening and did NOTHING to stop it, did nothing to protect the little boy.
Seems like no one at Penn State has a moral compass.
Don't go to the DAWG either. Call the police. The DAWG cannot be trusted, ever!
These Penn State officials are absolutely disgusting and just as guilty of raping young boys as that filthy Sandusky. They must be prosecuted!
The name of the grad assistant you chose not to name is mike mcquery.now wide receivers coach at pay. Seems like you are giving a grown man who witnessed a brutal rape of a 10 year old boy and DID NOTHING to save the boy,did not intervene,call police or even report it to school officials. Then he proceeded to keep his mouth shut all this time and surprise! He was rewarded with a coaching position. At a university that covered up the rape and never even tried to find out who the victim was. I think mcquery should be facing charges as well. He may have been upset but he essentially did nothing more to prevent future attacks of this nature. Everyone involved is a party to child molestation.
4:42 - good points. What he witnessed was a rape, a brutal rape in progress.
What if it was a woman being raped by a man? Would he have just turned away and called his dad? Of course not. He should intervene immediately in some form or fashion - whether it be to stop the attack through force of his own, or minimally calling 9-1-1.
I'm beginning to think that Jerry Sandusky may be just the tip of the iceberg, part of a ring of influential pedophiles at Penn State.
These rapes of children may extend far beyond this one creep. Why else would a big tough quarterback lack the guts to save a naked ten year old boy from a RAPE in progress? Why else would these degenerates be protecting this coach who RAPES little boys?
His molestations and RAPES go back to at least 1998 and probably decades earlier than that. And from at least 1998, Penn State has known and has been protecting him.
Can't help but wonder if ANY Penn State alumni who support this sleazy school have the guts to condemn them and withdraw support.
Fire Joe Paterno and President Spanier!
"Can't help but wonder if ANY Penn State alumni who support this sleazy school have the guts to condemn them and withdraw support."
For a long time, I've been wondering the same thing about people in Southern Baptist churches. Just a few examples in an ocean of cases in which Baptist leaders have turned a blind eye to child sex abuse as well as to the rape and abuse of female congregants: Bellevue Baptist in Memphis (with Steve Gaines still in the pulpit), Prestonwood Baptist in Plano, TX (with former SBC president Jack Graham still in the pulpit), Baylor University and First Baptist Church of Waco (who kept quiet about assault/abuse allegations against Matt Baker, who was ultimately convicted of murder), First Baptist Church of Benton, AR (whose prominent leadership delayed the reporting of child sex abuser David Pierce), and on and on and on. And let's not forget that Southern Baptists promoted Frank Page to become president of the SBC's Executive Committee even after he publicly castigated clergy sex abuse survivors who speak out as being "nothing more than opportunistic persons" -- and he has never apologized. He set an example of ignorance and cold-heartedness on this subject at the very highest level of this denomination.
Why do people remain in the pews of churches whose leaders have demonstrated such immoral recklessness and such callousness for the safety of kids? And why do people in Baptist churches continue to send Cooperative Program dollars to Nashville to support an organization that is so far out of step with the sort of bare-bones clergy accountability methods that have been implemented in other major faith groups?
You'll never get the Leadership of Baptist Churches come clean about anything that happens amongst themselves, as you can hear from this Pastors rant.
video
Here's Steve Gaines, saying to cover a sin ( as interrupted by Calvinist, Charles Spurgeon), rather then "have the name of Jesus be drug through the mud!"
Apparently something is burning below the surface and he needs people to keep it quiet. Maybe like one of his Deacon's son (also a BBC member) for whom the dad has sheltered monies from the son's creditors
And to think, that Steve claimed that the Paul Williams incident was new to him, and that he
didn't know how or what to do. Sure knows how to tell others what to do and what not to do.
Story
PS: what goes on in the locker room, stays in the locker room.
Astonishing ignorance of the Bible! If he cannot discern between embezzling money and rape and fornication and adultery, he should quit the "ministry" and get an honest job.
It's hard to believe my fellow Baptists are SO carnal, SO wicked, SO willfully ignorant as to follow such as this.
"On Monday law enforcement officials said that Paterno had met his legal obligation in alerting his superiors at the university when he learned of the 2002 allegation against Sandusky.
But they suggested he might well have failed a moral test for what to do when confronted with such a disturbing allegation involving a child not even in his teens.
No one at the university alerted the police or pursued the matter to determine the well-being of the child involved." New York Times article.
The question now is, "Is Joe willing to let his AD take the fall for him?"
"No one at the university alerted the police or pursued the matter to determine the well-being of the child involved."
Substitute "Baptistland" for "the university," and the same sentence has been true over and over again: "No one in Baptistland alerted the police or pursued the matter to determine the well-being of the child involved."
And I would add: " . . . or of the wounded adults who tried to warn of what a minister did to them as kids and of the fact that the minister was still in the pulpit in a position of high trust."
One name comes to mind in all this: Tom Messer. Not calling the police. Helping to cover up the sin. Sending the molester elsewhere where he likely harmed other innocent children that trusted him because of his title and position of authority. What did Tom Messer suffer? Resignation? Fired? Nothing? Who enables these men anyways? We do, don't we.
If he did what is reported that he did (not report the law broken), then Joe Paterno still is "Joe" but he isn't "Pa" in any sense of the word meaningful to the average one of us; a "Pa" doesn't neglect the family, and he certainly doesn't permit a friend of the family to violate it but to go unaddressed.
Joe Paterno is just "Joe" now. Or, "Joe No-Show" maybe.
As a teacher, if I were to see something (God forbid) or hear of something, I'll call DCF (Florida's child service)/police first and tell everyone else that needs to know later. It is not my job to investigate. It is better to tell DCF first and then have them possibly invalidate the claim through their own investigation than to sit on it and then discover later on that it was indeed true. It doesn't matter if it is a kid at my school or some incident I walk into at the mall, church, wherever...Hopefully that is something I'll never have to do.
Utter moral bankruptcy at Penn State. Let the spinning begin:
"Ultimately, I think the only thing that can save Penn State's reputation is for the university to eliminate anything having to do with Sandusky or the scandal. First and foremost, Penn State must remove all records of Sandusky being involved with the university, which should be a no-brainer at this point..."
from bleacherreport...
In other words, cover up, hid everything, move on with AGAIN, not one word to soothe the anguish of the boys Sandusky RAPED.
Nothing about protecting children, nothing about helping the little boys Coach Sandusky RAPED, nothing about making sure they never again employ RAPISTS.
The moral cowards who run Penn State are crippled too high for crutches.
Jerry Sandusky :
"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."
now Paul Williams:
http://stopbaptistpredators.org/documents/WCCNewsletter2011-03.pdf
"Paul has visited them six times, Claudia, seven times (in Albania). Of course, this also gave them the opportunity to visit their grandchildren."
"The mission team plans to renovate the kindergarten and first grade rooms of a school in
a village of the Ghegs."
Steve Gaines is hiding something, as a number of predators have passed through Bellevue in years past and have quietly moved on.
Now as many as 17 victims of Jerry Sandusky's pedophile activity and Joe Paterno's willingness to look the other way and Mike McQueary's refusal to help a naked ten year old boy being raped in a Nittany Likons shower room have come forward.
FoxPhilly.com
As far as we know, NO ONE at Penn State has tried to help the RAPE victims, NO ONE at Penn State has asked for Jerry Sandusky's other RAPE victims to come forward.
You're right Christa - Penn State is handling this just like Baptist mega pastors would handle it.
I wouldn't be surprised if some Baptist mega pastors are acting as highly paid damage control consultants for Penn State.
After ignoring the victims for 30+ YEARS - remember Coach Sandusky started his trolling for victims youth charity in the late 70s, we understand there could be hundreds of victims. Jerry Sandusky could only have done it for that long with the help of enablers.
Does anyone seriously believe he only started RAPING little boys in the late 90s?
You guys sure love to lump all mega pastors into one group. They aren't all the same just like all you bloggers aren't the same--thank goodness.
Joe P. did exactly what he was supposed to do. Get off his back. He's 85 and about done and had nothing to do with the sexual abuse. Go after the ones who committed the crimes and quit trying to link all mega pastors to this sordid affair.
Does anyone seriously believe he only started RAPING little boys in the late 90s?
Not only that but where else is this kind of sick stuff is taking place. Got to believe there is Moleststion in money hunger churches.
All men are capable of committing the same sins, that’s the nature of the beast. Remember, sometimes pointing the finger results in four pointing back.
All Christians are “Calvinist’s,” many just don’t know the truth of this fact as of yet tis all. Of course, someone who calls themself a “Calvinist” and yet is not born again of the Holy Spirit of God is just NOT a Christian, at that moment and until the moment they are regenerated. Many, many, many people call themselves “a Christian” but are NOT and are NOT born anew. Now that it is a very dangerous place to be as they have no idea when they will die. Freaky!
All human beings are “totally corrupt” or more precisely: Radically Corrupt.. The corruption of sin goes to the very core of our being and there is no part of our being that has not been tainted, influenced, affected, infected by the evil of sin reaching right on in to the very deep recesses of our mind and heart. Something we inherited from Adam and Eve, yet we are still morally accountable for our own sins.
Interesting sermon by Spurgeon, here’s a quick quote from it but don’t forget to listen to the whole sermon in its context:
God’s Glory in Hiding Sin
"So we shall dwell upon it thus. First, it is the glory of God to cover sin. Secondly, this is a great encouragement to penitent sinners; and thirdly, it ought to be a great stimulus to saints.
I. First, it is the glory of God to cover sin.
This is the expression which is commonly used in Scripture to describe the putting away of sin and forgiving it. God covers the very thing which the magistrate searches out—the guilt, the breach of his law, the aggravations, the multiplied repetitions of sin, the base motives, the many excuses and deceits with which sin is sought to be extenuated—all this God covers. Hear this and be astonished, O ye sinners: God can cover all your sins no matter how black they are, or how many, or how deep their dye, he can cover them all!
“This in his grand prerogative,
And none can in this honor share.”
But he can do it, glory be to his blessed name!
He can cover the sin which is known and confessed. He never covers the sin which is unconfessed. When a man will not acknowledge himself to be guilty, he stands convicted of his rebellious refusal to take his proper position before the Lord. But if thou dost stand, O sinner, and confess thy guilt; if thou sayest O rebel, “There is no doubt about the matter; I own that I am guilty,” it is the glory of God that he can cover that sin which no other can cover, and which thine own conscience will not permit thee to conceal! He can cover the transgression of that man whose mouth is stopped by the consciousness of his guilt. O glorious act of divine grace, that sin and transgression can be covered—covered though it be confessed and acknowledged, and covered because it is confessed and acknowledged!
The glory of this truth lies in the fact that God can do this justly through the work of Jesus. To cover up sin, why, standing as it does alone and without any qualification, it might seem to be a dreadful thing for God to do; but he can do it righteously. Without the slightest violation of his law, without endangering the stability of his kingdom, he can forgive and cover up all manner of sin and blasphemy so that it shall never be seen again. Do you ask me how this can be done? The answer lies in the great substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God steps down from his eternal throne when man must be punished for his sin, and he says “I will bear the punishment; lay it all on me.” And that he might bear it, Jesus took upon himself the form of a man and dwelt among men; and at last upon the accursed tree he bore the guilt of man. It was a wondrous recompense which he made to his own law by being himself punished in the stead of the offender..."
Now, and Then
Had to know WD and Christa were going to lump all baptist pastors into this. They do it every time. Take a story and use it to their benefit. Disgusting.
If you haven't read it, you SHOULD read the 23 page Grand Jury statement about precisely what Coach Sandusky did.
Page 2 of Jerry Sandusky's Grand Jury Presentment gives insight into one of Sandusky's vile tactics.
He took his victim to church. Amazing. I don't know if Sandusky is Baptist or Catholic or whatever. But that's one way he psychologically coerced his victims to trust him.
According to the Grand Jury testimony, he took his victim to church as well as to his home, to hotels, football games, restaurants and shower rooms and saunas to be fondled, touched and raped.
Joe Paterno should be fired, NOT allowed to retire at the end of the season.
Final note: According to the Grand Jury findings, Sandusky used his Second Mile foundation to funnel vulnerable kids to him - hundreds of them!
WD
You did the right thing by explaining exactly what went on. I remember a group of kids who were hurt by a pedophile. People brushed it off until they heard the gory details. It is so heartbreaking.
Keep up the good work.It is wonderful to have a man get concerned about kids. So many male pastors have run in the opposite direction when confronted with this in their churches.
BTW, did you know that the average pedophile has molested around 140 kids by the time he is caught? Think about this situation...
Anonymous said...
"Had to know WD and Christa were going to lump all baptist pastors into this. They do it every time. Take a story and use it to their benefit. Disgusting"
Pastors and church leaders are held to a higher standard for the authority and responsibility they have to the flock. To violate that trust by knowingly allowing a pedophile in the fold is appalling. It is time that judgment must begin with the house of God. How dare you give pastors a free a pass because of their so-called "anointing." If put your head in the sand while children are abused, you are part of the problem. Better yet, you are a defender of child-abusers.
Prestonwood Baptist Church is another Mega Church that turned a blind eye and passed along abusers.
It just keeps going......
It is sad that this is not uncommon today. It is growing more common as well - and when churches (I remember one BIG case in Jacksonville where a sex offender pastor was not reported) do not protect the innocent I believe Abba is angry.
NTT > Breaking News: Spanier and Paterno Are Out at Penn State.
Penn State Board of Trustees Announces Firings of University President, Paterno
Except Paterno is not being fired effective immediately. He's going to retire at the end of the season.
"I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season," Paterno said in a statement.
"At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can."
Anon 10:54,
If Joe P. were half the head football coach he's been reported to be all these years, he'd of jumped with both feet into Sandusky for what he was observed doing to little BOYS, for Pete's sake! You're a nut if you think in this case Joe P. did what he was SUPPOSED to do.
Anybody who ever observes a law being broken is responsible for reporting the matter immediately and directly to the police.
Paterno is out now. The trustees didn't grant his wish to retire at the end of the season, they canned him effective immediately.
FBC Jax Watchdog said...
"Paterno is out now."
"Doing what the law required wasn't enough"
but Pastors remain,
not held to the higher standard
Good for them.
But at Bellevue the coach stayed on and on
"Bellevue Baptist Pastor Dr. Steve Gaines got right to the point at Wednesday night's church service.
"I'd really like to stay and be your pastor, if it would be all right," he said.
Gaines has been under fire for keeping a disturbing secret from his congregation for the past six months. That was when one of his ministers, Paul Williams, confessed to Gaines he had molested a child relative 17 years ago.
Williams claimed it hadn't happened again and told Gaines he was in counseling."
"For now, Gaines will remain at the helm of a church in crisis. "God wants us to respond in grace and love, and as I said this past Sunday,
if Jesus forgave us,
we can forgive anyone," he said."
While watching ESPN's footage at PSU right now, I wonder the motivations of those who stand for victim's rights.
Is THIS what they want everywhere? Is the motivation justice? Or is the motivation just to hurt?
Hurt people hurt others. They lash out and want to see others hurt. It's natural.
Did Joe Pa pay off witnesses? Did he not report anything at all to anyone ever? Did he go before the press and say the victims are all liars? Did he lie under oath?
What did Joe Pa's wife do? She's on national television in tears. Where is justice served in that? Is this what she deserves for marrying a man 40+ years ago?
Theoretical: If Joe alerted the authorities back in the early 2000's, what do you honestly think would have happened? It's already evident his supervisors, "in the name of maintaining PSU's name", would not have stood by him. More than likely those people would have dragged him through the mud and the victim would STILL receive zero justice.
IF Joe did wrong slap cuffs on him and arrest him and have a jury of his peers declare him guilty and lock him up for as long as the law allows.
Don't fire him to save face. Don't destroy more people's lives in the name of victims who have no connection to those lives being destroyed.
Justice, yes. Resounding, yes!
More hurt and destruction in the name of hurt people, no.
If I am mistaken, I apologize, and humbly ask to be pointed in a more proper perspective. No flaming needed.
12:15 Anon:
Not "Joe 'Pa'"--just "Joe," who acted as no "Pa" in this case. A man of his age--unless he no longer has any sound reasoning ability--and experience and vocational status understands (surely) what his moral responsibilities are in such matters: NOT to let children continue to be victimized by an apparent sexual predator, at least on his watch (his lllooonnnggg watch as PSU head football coach). Can the man was right; so sorry--but you really would think so too if the children involved were yours or those of families you know.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7211674
"Over 62 seasons, the last 46 as head coach, Paterno held his players, his university and himself to a higher standard. The "grand experiment," as he put it in his younger days, proved that the best college football could be played within the rules by athletes who achieved on the field and in the classroom.
Paterno could be imperious. He certainly could be holier-than-thou. But behind all of that posturing, Paterno stood for the ideals of virtue and honor as expressed through the silly, violent and completely enthralling game of college football. "
Gee, you would think , that since Christianity is the only "True" religion (the ONLY way to the TRUE god), that Pastors could be head to that higher standard of what they preach?
You would think???
Oh well, one could only dream....
.
"Pastors and church leaders are held to a higher standard for the authority and responsibility they have to the flock. To violate that trust by knowingly allowing a pedophile in the fold is appalling. It is time that judgment must begin with the house of God. How dare you give pastors a free a pass because of their so-called "anointing." If put your head in the sand while children are abused, you are part of the problem. Better yet, you are a defender of child-abusers."
All of this, I never said. I have a problem with people lumping ALL PASTORS together. Read what I said correctly please. I did not give pastors a free pass. I am not part of the problem. I do not defend child abusers. You are way out of line to imply that. Anyone who commits such a terrible crime should experience the full brunt of the law upon them. No question. But please quit the, "all pastors are involved" nonsense. As a pastor, who tries to do what is right, it offends me. Your assuming post illustrates exactly what I am talking about.
Anonymous said..
"As a pastor, who tries to do what is right, it offends me. Your assuming post illustrates exactly what I am talking about."
I am not the source of frustration. People who throw around terms like "under the blood" for cover-ups and "touch not the anointed" to protect predators in the pulpit are the ones causing delusion. They play right into the culture of church trust that has created the perfect environment for getting away with abuse.
Listening to the testimonies of abuse victims, there is often a pattern. A highly respected member in the community (pastor, camp leader, etc) is able to lure victims by using their "faith" against them. Then, after devastating lives, their victims have no recourse. The reactions faced by the victim include "How dare you attempt to tarnish our great leader? Who do you think you are?"
Which group do you want to be a part of? One that adds injury to insult on victims by denying that their "anointed leader" can do wrong? Do you only assume that such things only happen in "the world" and not in "the church?"
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