The Penn State Scandal

[Meacon Keaton]

I would imagine it is to help prevent him from putting his foot in his mouth again.

[Your Mom]

Victims lawyer says Paterno shouldnt have been fired

[gunnar hendershow]

What is being missed by some people is that the case wasn't pursued in 1998 because the DA wasn't confident he'd wind up with a conviction. This isn't some out-of-the-norm decision, it's a common practice of prosecutors and why so many drug dealers basically run free on the streets despite attorneys and police knowing every detail about where they are and what they do.

The reason(s) why there wasn't a likelihood of conviction are endless, but you'd be right to speculate it came from the university basically saying "we'll fight this with all our power".

[Evil Chase K]

What is being missed by some people is that the case wasn't pursued in 1998 because the DA wasn't confident he'd wind up with a conviction. This isn't some out-of-the-norm decision, it's a common practice of prosecutors and why so many drug dealers basically run free on the streets despite attorneys and police knowing every detail about where they are and what they do.

The reason(s) why there wasn't a likelihood of conviction are endless, but you'd be right to speculate it came from the university basically saying "we'll fight this with all our power".

Maybe.

Or maybe the evidence wasn't good enough. Maybe detectives hiding in a closet and hearing a confession from Sandusky wouldn't hold up in court.

Edited November 11, 2011 by Evil Chase K

[Quom]

Well it's not as simple as he thinks he shouldn't have been fired. But I do agree with his point. Like I said it makes far more sense and is far more appropriate to suspend every single person who may have had any involvement in the case. Picking the football coach as the sacrificial lamb and hoping this all goes away is ridiculous.

Edit. The school acted in a completely inappropriate way by not providing due diligence in regards to the reports made previously. In all honesty this is just one giant cock up.

I fully expect charges to be levelled against a large number of school employees for failure to report, failure to protect etc.

I'm no lawyer but the college has to be open to any number of civil complaints based on this.

Zero may get his wish yet. This is going to be very costly and so it should be.

Edited November 11, 2011 by Quom

[gunnar hendershow]

What is being missed by some people is that the case wasn't pursued in 1998 because the DA wasn't confident he'd wind up with a conviction. This isn't some out-of-the-norm decision, it's a common practice of prosecutors and why so many drug dealers basically run free on the streets despite attorneys and police knowing every detail about where they are and what they do.

The reason(s) why there wasn't a likelihood of conviction are endless, but you'd be right to speculate it came from the university basically saying "we'll fight this with all our power".

Maybe.

Or maybe the evidence wasn't good enough. Maybe detectives hiding in a closet and hearing a confession from Sandusky wouldn't hold up in court.

I did forget the point about the detectives, that would have a tough time holding up in court. I think there was strong enough evidence though, 2 testimonies from the victims. But there's a mysterious dropping of any pursuit and then even more mysteriously, Sandusky goes into an early retirement. My point isn't that there was a massive university-wide cover-up, but that the people in power back in 1998 made an effort to protect Sandusky and at the same time the potential case against him was dropped and not pursued.

[Evil Chase K]

What is being missed by some people is that the case wasn't pursued in 1998 because the DA wasn't confident he'd wind up with a conviction. This isn't some out-of-the-norm decision, it's a common practice of prosecutors and why so many drug dealers basically run free on the streets despite attorneys and police knowing every detail about where they are and what they do.

The reason(s) why there wasn't a likelihood of conviction are endless, but you'd be right to speculate it came from the university basically saying "we'll fight this with all our power".

Maybe.

Or maybe the evidence wasn't good enough. Maybe detectives hiding in a closet and hearing a confession from Sandusky wouldn't hold up in court.

I did forget the point about the detectives, that would have a tough time holding up in court. I think there was strong enough evidence though, 2 testimonies from the victims. But there's a mysterious dropping of any pursuit and then even more mysteriously, Sandusky goes into an early retirement. My point isn't that there was a massive university-wide cover-up, but that the people in power back in 1998 made an effort to protect Sandusky and at the same time the potential case against him was dropped and not pursued.

The commander of the PSU police told his detective to close the case after the DA decided not to pursue.

I completely believe that Sandusky was offered an early retirement in exchange for a cover-up. But I don't think they had anything to do with the DA not filing charges.

[million$$man]

The plot thickens.....Just how far would Penn State go to cover up the sex scandal??

Link

Ray Gricar, Original District Attorney in Jerry Sandusky Trial, Went Missing in 2005, Declared Dead by Jonathan Hardacker on Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 5:55PM

When an investigation first started in 2005 over allegations that Jerry Sandusky was engaging in sexual acts with young boys, district attorney Ray Gricar was working on getting to the bottom of things, disregarding Sandusky's position at Penn State and in the community. Unfortunately in April of that same year, Gricar went missing.

A few months later, his daughter, Lara, petitioned to declare her father dead so that the family could have closure, according to The New York Times. But the Sandusky case was left wide open, with much of the evidence and momentum dying with Gricar.

Gricar's disappearance has been a mystery ever since that April day in 2005. His car was found in a parking lot 50 miles from his home, with his laptop, wallet and keys missing. Investigators later revealed an Internet search on Gricar's home computer that read: "how to wreck a hard drive." Foul play is still suspected because the former district attorney's body still has not been found.

Anthony De Boef, assistant district attorney while Gricar was serving, explained how adament Gricar was when dealing with a case as serious as the Sandusky accusations.

"No one got a bye with Ray. He didn't care who you were, he had a job to do."

No good news has come from the Sandusky child sex scandal. Joe Paterno has been fired as Penn State's head football coach, the school's president Graham Spanier has tendered his letter of resignation, students were rioting in the streets over the news and the latest reports include Sandusky "pimping out" young boys.

Edited November 11, 2011 by million$$man

[Evil Chase K]

Are you seriously insinuating that Penn State is behind Gricar's disappearance?

That's idiotic.

[Maxx]

And I mentioned it on the last page.

[Evil Chase K]

And Gricar was the DA who decided not to pursue charges against Sandusky. Why would anyone at Penn State want to kill him?

[Guest mr. potato head]

And Gricar was the DA who decided not to pursue charges against Sandusky. Why would anyone at Penn State want to kill him?

Because IT'S ALL A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY!

[Mick]

And I mentioned it on the last page.

And the plot thins

[Cactus Drags]

I like Quom's non-gimmick posts, that was a fantastic reponse. The only way I heard about this story was through this topic and I've been very interested in finding out the details about the case. The whole thing is fucking disgusting - and presumably saving the school's rep in favour of keeping this man out of jail is wrong beyond words.

The only thing about your post Quom, is that if the coach didn't know very much, or had only heard a rumour, surely he would've prosted that in the past few days. I don't know enough about the situation, but that was a question that popped into my head.

The whole thing is a tragedy though and I hope the victims recieve plenty of support and a suitable settlement, because they have every right to sue those involved (but don't call me on that, I'm no lawyer.)

I would assume he's under legal advisement to not say a goddamned thing either way. Especially after the "victims or whatever they say" line.

[sahyder1]

Pretty sure I read earlier that NBC issued a correction and said that he hasn't hired a lawyer as of yet. Paterno should have hired a lawyer earlier though, not because he's guilty of a crime but just so he had better advisers. Yes, his son is a lawyer but his handling of the situation this week has been terrible.

This anti-Paterno crusade the past 48 hours is a little bit crazy. The President and AD should have acted. Should Paterno still have quit? Absolutely. I doubt there is much that goes on within a 30 mile radius of campus that Paterno doesn't know about. But people are acting as though he was the one raping the kids. Why is Sandusky not in jail right now? Him getting bail is an absolute joke. Mike McQueary will not coach on Saturday because of death threats he's received. I was wondering why he wasn't let go as well and then someone pointed out that federal "whistleblower laws" probably protect him.

[Evil Chase K]

Pretty sure I read earlier that NBC issued a correction and said that he hasn't hired a lawyer as of yet. Paterno should have hired a lawyer earlier though, not because he's guilty of a crime but just so he had better advisers. Yes, his son is a lawyer but his handling of the situation this week has been terrible.

This anti-Paterno crusade the past 48 hours is a little bit crazy. The President and AD should have acted. Should Paterno still have quit? Absolutely. I doubt there is much that goes on within a 30 mile radius of campus that Paterno doesn't know about. But people are acting as though he was the one raping the kids. Why is Sandusky not in jail right now? Him getting bail is an absolute joke. Mike McQueary will not coach on Saturday because of death threats he's received. I was wondering why he wasn't let go as well and then someone pointed out that federal "whistleblower laws" probably protect him.

There's this little thing called the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

That's why.

[gunnar hendershow]

They're giving McDidn'tCallTheAuthorites the protection usually given to a whistleblower? Really? REALLY?

[sahyder1]

They're giving McDidn'tCallTheAuthorites the protection usually given to a whistleblower? Really? REALLY?

I believe by law he only has to report it to someone higher up. I'm not saying that is why he didn't get fired but I am assuming that is the reason.

[Maxx]

He's a star witness for the prosecution, it doesn't really surprise me. Still needs to be fired though.

[naiwf]

They really need to change that law if that's the case. I still can't fathom a grown man walking in on a child getting raped and the first thing that goes through his mind is to run outside to call his daddy. I think Jay Bilas was the one that called this whole thing a "conspiracy of cowards", but that was right on.