Jerry Sandusky's Trial...

Smiling as he goes to court...pft!

I really tried to avoid any news to do with Sandusky's trial because I knew it would rile me up. Since the story first broke about Sandusky sexually abusing boys at Penn State it triggered my feelings about the pedophile priests that I am still waiting for the Church to do something about…besides lip service. But, unfortunately I do listen to the news and when I heard the words “victim number ten” took the stand to testify, my blood pressure shot up.

Victim number ten. Ten victims that were willing to testify against him and who knows how many more could not. They were all abused over a 15 year period. Sandusky even created a charity, The Second Mile, to give him access to disadvantaged boys. Just on these ten victims alone Sandusky is facing 52 counts. Then there was testimony from a janitor who reported he saw two pairs of legs in a shower one night and then was told by a coworker, that he witnessed Sandusky performing oral sex on victim eight. And of course witness Mike McQueary, an assistant coach, who witnessed Sandusky assault a young boy in the shower and reported it to Joe Paterno, who reported it to school officials. Penn State failed to report any of this to law enforcement, but instead handled it by firing Sandusky from their school and washing their hands of this mess. In so doing, they made it possible for the alleged abuse to continue for who knows how many more years. Almost like the Church transferring priests from parish to parish, and allowing the abuse to continue.

I really didn’t want to get into this again, but then I saw the above picture of Sandusky arriving at court with a smile on his face and it made me sick. I heard how his lawyer, in questioning the victims, tried to make something of the fact that these, now men, could not recall all the specific details of what happened at the time. Never mind that they were abused and scarred for life. Never mind that they were traumatized. Sandusky’s lawyer, Amendola, is trying to create doubt and say these things horrible things didn’t happen because the victims can’t remember details or didn’t tell anyone at the time. It’s nothing short of badgering these men, who are now in their 20’s. It’s disgusting that they are being made to relive this whole ordeal and then their credibility is being questioned. There are TEN of them and witnesses!

Alleged Victim 1 on cross-examination tells Sandusky's lawyer: “I’m going to keep telling you the same answer. I want you to stop asking me the same questions over and over.”

I know he is trying to defend Sandusky, but there comes a point when a criminal’s actions are indefensible. His lawyer is no better in my eyes. He chose to take on Sandusky as a client. Everyone has the presumption of innocence, but here we have ten victims speaking out, we have eye witness accounts, and the evidence is overwhelming. Do the victims really need to be tortured even more? Something is wrong with this picture, when a person on trial, accused of harming at least 10 young victims, is smiling as the victims are being abused once again by his attorney.