In addition, while the weight of so many victims has been very damaging to Sandusky during the trial, it’s not clear that any of the victims knew about the other victims. As far as they knew, each one of them was operating in a vacuum and any case was going to be their single word against his.
Not true. It’s sort of an open secret but the reality is a lot of child molesters are kept in prison even after their sentences have been completed.
You know how female rape victims are often treated like crap, their reputations dragged through the mud, accused of asking for it, and so forth? It’s even worse for male rape victims, who are often presumed to be homosexual, and there are people out there who think boys who were molested are somehow doomed to grow up to be molesters.
None of which, I hasten to add, I agree with but those attitudes are out there.
On top of which, whoever stood up first and “besmirched” the reputation of a man like Sandusky would be ruined by everyone who liked the coach basically punishing him for daring to make such an accusation. That’s the way these things happen. I mean, crap, an adult actually saw Sandusky engaging in abuse in the shower and didn’t report it - you expect the kids to do it? Even later, ten years or so down the road, when they’re young adults?
I’m not at all puzzled these men who were raped as boys kept it to themselves.
I don’t blame the victims for not coming forward, but I do blame those who knew, like the assistant coach who told Joe Pa rather than the police. Most astonishing is that he apparently just let it all go after that. If I saw a child being raped, I can’t imagine letting it go without raising some sort of stink.