# Jerry Sandusky's son charged with sexual assault of a child **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 13, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771 "2017-02-13T20:02:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/1 "2017-02-13T20:02:08Z")
The story can be found [here](http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/02/13/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexually-assaulting-a-child/) I expect a certain poster will come rushing in explaining that this cannot be possible, due to the height differences. But man, this is one fucked up family. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/2 "2017-02-13T20:33:31Z")
The problem with you making this about genetics is that there are many other criminals not named Sandusky. Should we be monitoring the spawn of all sex criminals? ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/3 "2017-02-13T20:40:49Z")
“Upon learning of the alleged abuse, the child’s mother asked Jeffrey Sandusky to leave the house.” How polite of her. What if he’d said no? > [@madsircool](#): > > The problem with you making this about genetics is that there are many other criminals not named Sandusky. Should we be monitoring the spawn of all sex criminals? 😕 Who said anything about genetics? A family containing father and son kiddy diddlers sounds pretty fucked up to me, too. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/4 "2017-02-13T20:40:54Z")
I think it’s quite likely that Sandusky molested his own son the same as he did those other boys. An irresistible temptation, if you will. And so the cycle continues. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/5 "2017-02-13T20:42:56Z")
Thread relocated from IMHO to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/6 "2017-02-13T21:03:08Z")
> [@Azeotrope](#): > > “Upon learning of the alleged abuse, the child’s mother asked Jeffrey Sandusky to leave the house.” > > How polite of her. What if he’d said no? > > 😕 Who said anything about genetics? A family containing father and son kiddy diddlers sounds pretty fucked up to me, too. There appears to be a pretty strong genetic predisposition behind child sex crimes, based on a study out of Sweden a year or two ago. I think they estimated the heritability of “sexual assault of a minor” at around 40-50%. (It was only around 20% for rape of an adult). ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/7 "2017-02-13T21:19:26Z")
Jeffrey is adopted. There is no genetics involved. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/8 "2017-02-13T21:21:01Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > There appears to be a pretty strong genetic predisposition behind child sex crimes, based on a study out of Sweden a year or two ago. I think they estimated the heritability of “sexual assault of a minor” at around 40-50%. (It was only around 20% for rape of an adult). I just read the wikipedia article about Sandusky following this thread, and apparently all his children were adopted, so heritability seems irrelevant in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/9 "2017-02-13T21:28:54Z")
> [@Hector\_St\_Clare](#): > > There appears to be a pretty strong genetic predisposition behind child sex crimes, based on a study out of Sweden a year or two ago. I think they estimated the heritability of “sexual assault of a minor” at around 40-50%. (It was only around 20% for rape of an adult). Unfortunately, heritability studies are largely crap. Evolutionary psychologists are notorious for misunderstanding exactly what heritability means. The heritability of a trait applies ONLY to the population being examined, ONLY at the time the population is examined, and in the specific environment in which it is measured. It is not a universal, fixed value for any given trait (indeed, since it’s based on relative gene frequencies for the trait in question within the population being examined, it can be subject to change over time), nor can it be extrapolated to a different population. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/10 "2017-02-13T21:43:42Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > I think it’s quite likely that Sandusky molested his own son the same as he did those other boys. An irresistible temptation, if you will. And so the cycle continues. My thoughts exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/11 "2017-02-13T21:49:01Z")
I just read about this, so ugly and sad all around. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/12 "2017-02-13T22:30:02Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > I think it’s quite likely that Sandusky molested his own son the same as he did those other boys. An irresistible temptation, if you will. And so the cycle continues. Jerry’s son Matt [has said his adoptive father sexually assaulted him for years](http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2016/04/jerry_sanduskys_son_how_he_groomed_me_to_sexually_abuse_me.html). It seems the Sanduskys open to taking in troubled kids and that gave them leeway when it came to oversight, as Matt also says he had a relationship w/ a girl who came to live w/ the family until they both decided to commit suicide together (and failed). I’m afraid I’m more and more in the camp of people who think Dottie knew and did nothing (unless she spent decades in a stupor of some kind). ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/13 "2017-02-13T22:34:12Z")
> [@Darwins\_Finch](#): > > Unfortunately, heritability studies are largely crap. Evolutionary psychologists are notorious for misunderstanding exactly what heritability means. > > The heritability of a trait applies ONLY to the population being examined, ONLY at the time the population is examined, and in the specific environment in which it is measured. It is not a universal, fixed value for any given trait (indeed, since it’s based on relative gene frequencies for the trait in question within the population being examined, it can be subject to change over time), nor can it be extrapolated to a different population. That is all correct, but it doesn’t make heritability estimates derived in Sweden _completely useless_ in a different context, it just means that they have serious limitation. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/14 "2017-02-13T23:48:31Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Jeffrey is adopted. There is no genetics involved. I just read that. But the influence of the parents still seem to effect the future actions of the child to some extent. In this case its Nurture rather than simply Nature. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/15 "2017-02-13T23:52:01Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > I think it’s quite likely that Sandusky molested his own son the same as he did those other boys. An irresistible temptation, if you will. And so the cycle continues. I agree. A lot of people who are abused as children grow up to become child abusers. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/16 "2017-02-14T00:12:15Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I agree. A lot of people who are abused as children grow up to become child abusers. I agree. The very act of molestation perhaps cause PTSD moments that alter the brain. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/17 "2017-02-14T09:25:57Z")
Jerry Sandusky has six adopted children. I assume he probably molested all of them. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/18 "2017-02-14T12:58:42Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I just read the wikipedia article about Sandusky following this thread, and apparently all his children were adopted, so heritability seems irrelevant in this case. Sandusky is following this thread? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/19 "2017-02-14T13:49:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I agree. A lot of people who are abused as children grow up to become child abusers. Rather : a lot of child abusers claim to have been abused themselves during their childhood. The way you wrote it casts suspicion on former (male) victims of child abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-sanduskys-son-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child/779771/20 "2017-02-14T16:46:01Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Rather : **a lot of child abusers claim to have been abused themselves during their childhood**. The way you wrote it casts suspicion on former (male) victims of child abuse. I’m not clear what you are saying. Are you suggesting that a lot of child abusers claim to have been abused as children, but were not? The part of your post that I bolded seems to suggest that, but the next sentence seems to contradict that 😕