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	Institutions in Sex Scandals Try to 'Protect Their Own' By Tom Beyerlein′ Dayton Daily News November 9, 2011 http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/institutions-in-sex-scandals-try-to-protect-their-own-1282250.html Leaders of child-protection groups that sprang up in the wake of the Roman Catholic priest child sexual abuse crisis said they see troubling similarities between that scandal and the one that is rocking Penn State University this week. The scandal has led to the indictment of one former football′ coach on charges he sexually abused children, brought perjury charges against two administrators, and ended the career of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. The Penn State board of trustees announced Wednesday that Paterno and university President Graham Spanier have been fired, effective immediately. "I do see parallels," said U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Merz of Dayton, who headed the National Review Board of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2007-2009. "Institutions try to protect their own." David Clohessy of St. Louis,′who heads the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said "the parallels are striking and disturbing. Again you've got highly educated men choosing to protect themselves, their reputation and their institution instead of protecting children. Again we've got this notion that horrific sex crimes can and should be reported internally instead of externally to the authorities. And you've got the same kind of blame-shifting, finger-pointing and excuse-making." Paterno, 84, announced Wednesday that he planned to retire at the end of this season, his 46th. In a statement, he said the scandal is "a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more." Paterno has come under fire for failing to report to police an allegation that Jerry Sandusky, then his defensive coordinator, assaulted a young boy in 2002. Sandusky has been charged with sexually abusing eight boys older than 15, and two university officials are charged with perjury and failure to report the allegations to authorities. Paterno told his superiors at the university about the 2002 allegations and has not been charged. The purported victims were involved in a charity Sandusky established for troubled boys. Clohessy, who was abused by a priest as a child, said Penn State officials "need to send out a clarion call" to former staff and students, urging them to report anything they know about the allegations. Kristine Ward of Kettering, who chairs the National Survivor Advocates Coalition, said Paterno should have known the severity of child sexual abuse because his diocese, the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, was impacted by the priest scandal in 2002, the same year Paterno learned of the allegations against Sandusky. "The (priest) scandal was known there, and that makes it all the more troubling," she said. "I'm a Penn State grad and it's painful," Ward added. "It's unimaginable that it could have happened, and for such a long time." Merz said he sees three parallels: The organizations sought to protect their own, outsiders uncovered the wrongdoing and the reporting of the scandals caused other victims to come forward. According to the grand jury's report, one of the eight suspected Penn State victims has yet to be identified. Merz said it's critical for victims' healing for them to report their abuse, even if the time has passed for lawsuits and criminal charges.
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