In a moment of desperate fantasy last night, Joe Amendola, the defense attorney for Jerry Sandusky, asked Judge John Cleland to release his client to house arrest pending his appeal. Cleland petty much treated that proposal the same way he'd treat a fly settling on his forearm. Shortly there after, the former Penn State defensive coordinator and founder of The Second Mile Foundation was led away in handcuffs as a large crowd cheered.
It doesn't get any more appalling than this.
Sandusky set up the foundation in order to "help" at risk boys, many of whom had no idea what life with a father was like. He then systematically sodomized more than just a handful of them, traumatizing them beyond any one's capacity to understand. Scars will remain for entire lives. Therapists will be assured of constant work for years.
The final outrage in all this was that Sandusky's youngest adopted son, Matt came forward through his attorneys this week and accused his father of sexually abusing him also. Up until that moment Sandusky had every intention of testifying on his own behalf. When the prosecution let Amendola and the rest of the defense team know what would happen if he did, they quickly folded their cards. One can only imagine what went through Mr. Amendola's mind at that moment. The testimony all ready presented was damning enough, now here was his client's own son ready and willing to send his father away for the rest of his unnatural life. I suppose the only thing he could do at that point was start planning the appeal and begin praying that his client's checks don't start to bounce.
God only knows what Dorothy Sandusky's state of mind is at this point. The poor woman claimed until the very end she didn't believe her husband was capable of such behavior. Now she is faced with the fact the man she loves is going away forever, convicted of perhaps the most heinous of crimes and her own son is saying he is one of his victims.
Sentencing is scheduled in September. NBC is reporting the minimum Sandusky faces is 60 years. When you're 68 like Sandusky, that is known as throwing away the key.
Unfortunately, or not, this isn't over yet. Not only is Sandusky headed to a correctional facility, but others might be joining him soon. Perjury charges are being leveled at former athletic director Tim Curley and former university vice president Gary Schultz. They stand accused of lying to a grand jury about what they knew of Sandusky's lifestyle and tastes. Former Penn St. president, Graham Spanier, who was fired in November is under investigation also.
What were any of them, Joe Paterno included, thinking? Were they in such denial that they couldn't accept the growing body of evidence? Were they convinced they had to keep quiet so that the reputation of the university and its football program would remain as pure as heaven on earth? Or, did they just not give a shit?
Whatever the answer to those questions Penn State University now knows it is going to be paying out big bucks to all sorts of young men. The school issued a statement saying it is seeking to "fairly compensate the victims" and asked them to help, "facilitate the resolution of claims against the university arising out of Mr. Sandusky's conduct." In other words, it isn't a matter of whether the school is going to pay the victims, it is a matter of how much they are going to pay. Look for long and contentious negotiations to begin shortly. There is blood in the water and the feeding frenzy is about to start.
Meanwhile the man who described himself as the tickle monster to one of his accusers has been remanded to the sheriff's department. His attorney is going to argue that pre trial publicity tainted the jury pool beyond redemption and prevented any sort of fair hearing of the evidence. He will be trying to slay windmills.
Jerry Sandusky is gone. He is never going to see the light of day again.
The only question remaining is why didn't it happen sooner? There probably won't be a real answer to that, just more excuses.
However, as proven by that mob cheering Jerry Sandusky's incarceration, everyone who has witnessed this grotesque debacle is tired of excuses. As we all should be. More heads will roll. Bet on it.
6-23-12
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