Jerry Sandusky
UPI / Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General / Landov
Former Defensive Coordinator
The celebrated former Penn State football defensive coordinator was arrested November 5, 2011, facing charges that he sexually abused eight young boys. (Some reports are saying the number of accusers could reach 17.) Sandusky, 67, founded The Second Mile organization in 1977 while working at Penn State. The mission of the non-profit charity was to help troubled young boys, through which prosecutors allege he met the eight boys. The alleged abuses occurred from 1994 to 2009, according to a grand jury investigation. His charges tally 40 in total, the most serious being seven counts of first-degree involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
As part of The Second Mile, young boys would often sleep over at Sandusky’s home and attend Penn State football games with him. It was during these events that Sandusky would allegedly instigate sexual encounters with the boys, either in his basement or in the Penn State football facilities. Sandusky was banned from bringing children to the football building after then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary reported seeing Sandusky sexually abusing a 10-year-old in the locker room late one night.
Sandusky was the one-time heir apparent to legendary Penn State football head coach Joe Paterno, but was passed over for the position in 1999, leading to his retirement from the university after a 32-year career with the Nittany Lions football team. As part of his retirement package, Sandusky still maintained an office within the football department and was listed as a professor emeritus of physical education. Sources report he was on campus as recently as early November working out, but Penn State has since banned him from campus.
After retirement, Sandusky proceeded to focus his efforts on The Second Mile as its primary fundraiser. Sandusky says he retired from The Second Mile in September 2010, though the organization claims it severed ties with him in 2008.
Next: Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Head Coach
(UPDATED: Nov. 10, 2011; 10:00 a.m.)
Joe Paterno has served as Penn State’s head football coach since 1966. He first started as an assistant with the Nittany Lions in 1950, serving under his former Brown University football coach Rip Engle. Through his 46-year tenure as head coach, Paterno is credited with launching the Penn State football program to national success. Paterno recently notched more victories than any coach in the history of Division I football with 409 wins and has led Penn State to national titles in 1982 and 1986. Sandusky served in his role as defensive coordinator entirely under Paterno’s leadership.
But Paterno faced major fire for his alleged primary role in the abuse scandal. The State College, Pa. legend, affectionately know as JoePa, was reportedly the first to know about the alleged abuse. Graduate assistant Mike McQueary reportedly brought the information directly to Paterno in 2002. The scandal has proven to be the only event that could take Paterno off the field: the storied coach announced on Wednesday, Nov. 9 that he intended to retire at the end of the season. Expressing regret in his retirement announcement, Paterno said, “This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”
But the university’s Board of Trustees wouldn’t allow Paterno to coach the rest of the season with scandal on his shoulders. At an emergency meeting Wednesday evening, they fired the winningest coach in college football history. “What can I say, I’m no longer the coach,” Paterno said bluntly.
Paterno hasn’t been charged, and the grand jury investigation notes that Paterno appropriately reported the abuse to a higher level, alerting Penn State athletic director Tim Curley about the incident. “Joe Paterno was a witness who cooperated and testified before the grand jury,” said Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office. “He’s not a suspect.” Pennsylvania state Police Commissioner Frank Noonan also said that Paterno fulfilled his legal requirement to report the matter upon referring it to Curley.
His positive impact on the school as a whole is undeniable. “There’s no individual in the entire 120- or 130-year history of the university that has had a greater impact on the institution than Joe Paterno,” Larry Foster, a former Penn State trustee and the alumni association president, told the New York Times in 2004.
Next: Tim Curley
