What is it going to take? Exactly what needs to happen before the people’s representatives in Harrisburg allow a vote on a bill to protect children and vulnerable adults? The judicial committee sits on its collective hands because of lobbyists for the insurance industry and institutions with a history of protecting sexual predators spend millions to prevent Pennsylvania House Bills 832 and 878 from coming to the floor of the State Assembly for a fair vote.
The latest sexual abuse crisis involving a sexual predator and the powerful organization that sought to coverup his crimes involves the venerated football program at the Pennsylvania State University. USA Today reported on the former Penn State Defensive Coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, 67, of State College was arrested this past Saturday. It is alleged that senior officials at Penn State knew of these allegations and failed to report them. Athletic Director Timothy Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz have stepped down in the wake of charges being filed against them.
Mr. Sandusky went on to establish a non-profit organization, The Second Mile, a charity to help troubled youth, in 1997 and it provided him with “access to hundreds of boys, many of whom were vulnerable due to their social situations,” the grand jury said.
Penn State is going to put its reputation on the line for a bottom feeder like this? Oh, by the way, legal support will come from the University for Curley and Schultz because the alleged misconduct happened while those two pillars of ethical behavior were performing their official duties as Penn State employees. The taxpayers and tuition check writers of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will be bankrolling the legal teams trying to justify their actions.
Taking a page from the Catholic Church’s Playbook, Penn State’s President, Graham Spanier said that Curley and Schultz have his “unconditional support.”
“I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former university employee,” he said, adding that the charges are “groundless.” An amazing statement given that the investigation is still developing. By giving his unconditional support, President Spanier is diminishing the victims in this case by making such grand pronunciations. Maybe the shout at the next football game should be “We Are Penn State… And We Are Ashamed!”
President Spanier, I hope that part of the fall out from this case of sexual predation on the campus and the covering up of those crimes by high-ranking university officials will be either your resignation or dismissal from your current position.
My question is, given yet another large and powerful institution and its senior leadership providing cover for a sexual predator in the Commonwealth, why is the legislature continuing to give tacit support to organizations that are putting children and vulnerable adults at risk by not allowing legislation to get to the floor that could help victims and hold predators and their protectors accountable?
How long will the citizens of Pennsylvania allow their lawmakers to be the patsies of the Insurance lobby and the institutions that have supported the predators in their organization as part of their risk management programs? How long will they allow the chair of the Judicial committee, Representative Ron Marsico to keep legislation from getting a vote? Contact him and ask him! His email address is rmarsico@pahousegop.com . He can also be reached at:
4401 Linglestown Road, Suite B
Harrisburg, PA 17112
(717) 652-3721
Fax: (717) 652-6276
Hon. Ron Marsico
218 Ryan Office Building
PO Box 202105
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2105
(717) 783-2014
Fax: (717) 705-2010
Off My Knees - A Blog by Michael Baumann 
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Thank you for a very well written piece that [sadly] has to be written at all. Perhaps humans will advance beyond this some time.
Anyway — I’ve posted here before. I am a clergy abuse survivor. Like you, I am a US Veteran. Don’t know if you are Penn-Stater, or a Pennsylvanian. I’ve been both.
I can tell you that when I went to Penn State — a lot of things amazed me. Heck you could get a ‘share-a-ride’ lift from the HUB bulletin board direct to Saint Paul’s Seminary in Crafton [wink, wink], if you knew a simple code to recite from Chumley’s Bar — you were in the ‘boys’ party at the seminary.
Oh yeah — don’t get me started on the number of drunken rapes which occurred when ‘little-sisters’ rushed fraternities. My martial arts background got me a place on the University Escort Service, [or whatever it was called], where people who were frightened to walk by themselves called for a safe person to walk home with.
Ahh… I even remember the one professor who openly photographed girls in skimpy clothes [or none at all sometimes], in exchange for good grades. Anything went there, Bro — there was every kind of sex possible. Unfortunately, too deviant sex that apparently was not [very] frowned upon by university officials.
Harrisburg is exactly what you said — bought and sold for by affluent and powerful interests — above and beyond the common man and woman. There will be no justice in PA until Harrisburg does both its job, and the solemn right thing to do in front of society and God, Bro — period.
Later