Sandusky

This past Friday, a Pennsylvania jury convicted Jerry Sandusky of over 40 counts of various forms of child sexual abuse. Sandusky was the former defensive coordinator of the Penn State University football team. The convictions covered incidents involving Sandusky’s conduct over many years.

The evidence presented in court showed that Sandusky preyed upon many young boys that came into contact with him through a charity organization called “The Second Mile” which he founded. The purpose of this organization was to provide assistance to troubled male youth.

Not only was the coach robbing young boys of their innocence he was also preying upon vulnerable, marginalized youth. He was exploiting the sometimes tragic circumstances of the lives of these boys further compounding their tragedies.

So it was that a jury of Sandusky’s peers, and it indeed was a jury of his peers as nine of the 12 jurors had ties to Penn State University, found him guilty. Sandusky will more than likely never enjoy another day of freedom as the minimum prison sentence he can receive is 60 years and he is 68 years of age.

After the verdict was announced the mother of one of Sandusky’s victims said, “There are no winners here.” Indeed, the verdict in the courtroom can not undo the damage done to these young men by Sandusky. Punishment of the perpetrators of a crime often brings little justice to the victims of crime.

That said, those who were harmed by Sandusky did have the opportunity to have a voice which had previously been denied them. They were able to confront the one who harmed them and they now have heard their community say that what happened to them was not right.

The actions of Sandusky brings shame not only to him but to his family and the university that employed him for many years. The name of Penn State University will forever be linked to this horrible scandal bringing shame upon the students, alumni and faculty of this institution perhaps unfairly but this will be the perception nonetheless.

Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State head football coach, was never accused of harming any children. Even so, Paterno’s own role in the scandal was questioned. Joe Pa, as he was affectionately known, died soon after the actions of Sandusky were brought to public attention. Many feel he died of broken heart. That said, none of the collateral damage that has come from this scandal approached the damage brought to the young men Sandusky harmed.

The whole scandal brings to our attention the larger issue of child sexual abuse in our society. Child sexual abuse is an issue that does not have two sides. There are no shades of gray. No one can be “for” child sexual abuse and have any positive direction of their moral compass.

In the wake of the Sandusky scandal a friend asked my why the church so often speaks out on the sexual practices of two adults but has little to say about the practice of child sexual abuse.

I believe my friend asked a valid question. In the end it isn’t that the church is silent but rather that the issue is so heinous and the lines between right and wrong are so clearly defined that it would seem there is little left to say.

Yet, it would probably be prudent for the church to be more active in speaking against child molestation and reminding everyone of the importance of keeping our children safe from predators.

There are over 63 thousand reported cases of child sexual abuse in our country each year. To put that in perspective that is enough molested children to fill every seat at both Turner Field in Atlanta and Stegman Coliseum at the University of Georgia.

63,000 cases is 63,000 cases too many to be sure; yet, what is more disturbing is that the FBI estimates that only one in 10 cases of this barbaric crime are ever reported to a law enforcement agency.

Sadly there are predators that will harm our young people. It goes without saying that it is much better to prevent the molestation of children rather than punish it. Parents have an important role in safeguarding their children from those who will do them harm.

That said, organizations that sponsor children’s activities must do all they can to protect our young people. Schools, churches, Scout troops and recreation departments must do all they can to keep children safe.

My denomination, The United Methodist Church, requires all United Methodist congregations to develop a “Safe Sanctuaries” policy to protect the children entrusted to our care. At the First United Methodist Church of Monticello we have a policy that was reviewed by educational administrators, risk-management professionals, attorneys and parents to insure that we do all that we can to protect our children.

Jesus, in speaking to those who harm children said, “It would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.” I’m not a fundamentalist when it comes to interpreting scriptures. However, I believe in this case what Jesus meant when he made this statement was that for those who harm children “It would be better for [them] if a great millstone were hung around [their] neck and [they] were thrown into the sea.”

So it is that Sandusky is headed for prison. May we do all we can to see that a future Sandusky will have no access to our children.