Tip of the Iceberg?, by Beth Miller, Post and Courier, November 13, 2011

Tip of the Iceberg?

By Beth Miller
Post and Courier
November 13, 2011

http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20111113/NEWS05/311130024/Tip-iceberg-

Penn State and Nebraska players gather at midfield for a prayer before Saturday's game in State College, Pa., a week after the child sex abuse scandal broke. / GENE J. PUSKAR/Associated Press

The horrific allegations of child sexual abuse by a longtime Penn State University assistant football coach dealt the school's proud empire a body blow and raised again the most disturbing questions of all: Where else are kids being abused and who else is keeping those crimes secret?

The same questions have haunted members of the Roman Catholic Church over the past decade, as that institution wrestled publicly with its private crimes and silences.

But with the Catholic Church's public agony such a fresh memory, how did a constellation of respected Penn State leaders — including the university's now-dismissed President Graham Spanier, Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno and two other officials now facing perjury charges — miss the excruciating implications of the allegations against their colleague, Jerry Sandusky, and leave those matters unaddressed for more than a decade?

Only the subpoena power of a Pennsylvania grand jury was able to wrest long-buried information from insiders — including an assistant coach who said he told Paterno that he saw Sandusky rape a 10-year-old boy in the Penn State showers — and produce multiple charges of "involuntary deviant sexual intercourse" with boys, charges Sandusky has denied through his attorney.

"The worst thing about this is that it raises the possibility that the church disease and complicity is widespread," said Jay Belsky, who was a professor of human development at Penn State for 21 years and now holds a similar position at the University of California-Davis.

"If the Paternos and Spaniers of the world are doing what the priests and bishops did, what's going on at so many other institutions? Maybe the Catholic Church is just the tip of the iceberg and Penn State is just another tip," Belsky said.

The parallels are chilling and, former Minnesota prosecutor Victor Vieth says, 20 years of research suggests it is "commonplace."

"The failure of multiple, well-educated professionals at Penn State to report abuse is not an isolated instance," said Vieth, now director of the National Child Protection Training Center. "It is the norm."

But it may produce a tipping point, some believe, for those who struggle to strengthen protections for children — even as the 2006 arrest of former Diocese of Wilmington priest Francis DeLuca prompted the late Bishop Michael Saltarelli to publish the names of other priests against whom credible allegations had been made.

"The situation at Penn State may end as another disaster or it could mark the beginning of widespread understanding that contributing members of society do sexually abuse children," said Jane Gilgun, professor in the University of Minnesota's School of Social Work. "Maybe the era of sacrificing children for the sake of institutional reputations is over now, too."

Charles F. Gallagher III, who was senior prosecutor of the 2005 grand jury inquiry into clergy sexual abuse and concealment of the crimes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, hopes it will push lawmakers to consider proposals similar to Delaware's 2007 Child Victims Act. That legislation opened a two-year window during which abuse survivors could file civil suits for claims that otherwise would have been barred by the statute of limitations. The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy after settling claims from 150 survivors.

Gallagher also believes there should be no statute of limitations — criminal or civil — in cases of child sexual abuse.

"I think this horrendous happening in Happy Valley raises the consciousness of everyone in Pennsylvania that we have to be alert about child sexual abuse," Gallagher said.

"We knew this was not only done by priests — but also by coaches, by uncles, by fathers. ... There is no statute of limitations for murder. There should be no statute of limitations for soul murder, " he said.

'Still proud'

The grief and betrayal felt by many in the Penn State community is the same felt by the Catholic faithful when scores of once-trusted priests wound up listed as child abusers.

The graphic details in the Pennsylvania grand jury's report on Sandusky, Paterno's longtime defensive coordinator, echo those recorded in court documents filed by the 150 abuse survivors who sued the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and religious orders in Delaware from 2007 to 2009.

And some wearing Penn State blue already have felt the scorn of strangers, as those wearing the priestly collar surely have over the years.

Mike Harrell of Smyrna can speak to that.

Harrell is no pedestrian Penn Stater. In 1990, he became the first black drum major of its famous marching band.

He knows what it's like to run onto the field at Beaver Stadium with 100,000 fans cheering and, at 41, he can still do the drum major's signature "flip," which leads the band into action and kicks off Penn State football events.

He has tasted the glory up close and personal.

Last week was different.

He stopped at a Wawa and one of the other customers saw his Penn State sweatshirt.

"You should be ashamed," the person said to him.

No way, Harrell says. He is angry about the abuse and grieving the loss of innocence.

"It's incredibly painful," he said. "It's shocking. It's difficult to explain to someone who is not part of the organization.... It angers a lot of us to a great degree and anyone with an ounce of humanity should be angry."

But he won't be ashamed of an institution that prepared him for life and provided a network of enduring friendship.

"I'm still proud of Penn State," said Harrell, now deputy director of the state's Division of Motor Vehicles. "I'm going to participate and cheer on the various athletic teams. There's real loyalty for us. When we sing the alma mater, we mean it."

A swirl of mixed emotions engulfed students and alumni as developments emerged last week.

They saw video of Sandusky in handcuffs, heard that the president of their university had been fired and two other top officials removed.

When the ax reached Paterno, a beloved and vigorous 84-year-old nearing a long-deferred retirement, students brought their emotion into the streets of State College.

For some, those protests sent a message that football — not the safety of children — was the highest value.

Others have taken a decidedly different tack, using social media to rally support for the nonprofit RAINN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network). On the website explaining the campaign, the four organizers — Jerry and Jaime Needel, Bob Troia and Larena Lettow, all of the Class of 1998 — said they had a goal to raise $500,000, about $1 from each of Penn State's alumni.

"Penn State is way bigger than the alleged actions of a few people," they wrote. "... Please join us in showing the world what being a proud supporter of Penn State really means by making a donation in support of preventing and treating victims of sexual abuse and by adding your name to mine below."

By Friday night, the total had passed $181,000.

Something profound was lost this week, though, Harrell said.

"It's not appropriate to say that it feels like the death of a loved one, but whether it's appropriate or not that's kind of how it feels."

Contact: bmiller@delawareonline.com