The Daily Beast has learned that police in Pennsylvania are today receiving more calls idenfitying potential child abuse victims of Jerry Sandusky, the former coach at the center of the Penn State child abuse scandal.
A source inside the Pennsylvania State Police in Harrisburg told The Daily Beast today that calls from other potential victims or people who believe they know victims are flowing in. “Yes, we’re receiving calls,” the source said, noting that the whole office is being kept “very busy,” and that each and every call will be thoroughly investigated. The source would not say exactly how many calls the office had been received, but added that the line was being manned 24/7.
At a press conference this week, Attorney General Linda Kelly gave out two phone numbers for victims to call—that of the district attorney’s office, and the state police. If the allegations against Sandusky are true, it’s plausible that more victims exist; Sandusky has worked with children, and boys, as part of his Second Mile nonprofit since the organization was founded 1977. Sandusky and his wife, Dottie, have six adopted children.
Sandusky is free on $100,000 bail. His former boss, longtime football coach—and Penn State god—Joe Paterno, was fired yesterday. Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation, but the state police commissioner has called his failure to contact police himself a lapse in “moral responsibility.” Penn State’s athletic director Tim Curley, and university vice president Gary Schultz, are under criminal investigation for their alleged failure to report the crime and lying to the grand jury. They have been put on administrative leave by the university. Longtime Penn State president Graham Spanier was also fired on Wednesday amid the scandal, prompting campus riots that ended in overturned cars and chants of “Fuck the media!”
Paterno issued a statement soon after learning of his firing. “A tragedy occurred, and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed,” he said. “I appreciate the outpouring of support but want to emphasize that everyone should remain calm and please respect the university, its property, and all that we value.”
On Thursday, word on campus was that students were joking about being “Sanduskied.” Professors couldn’t avoid talking about the case; in at least one sociology class, a professor devoted an entire lecture to it. “I can’t escape it,” a junior told the Patriot News. The unnamed woman claimed her brother had been molested in a shower by Sandusky when he was 11.
Asked about the mood, Penn State senior Kevin Cirilli, a journalism student, said it feels a lot like “anarchy.” “It’s literally like Penn State has been ripped to shreds,” he told The Daily Beast. “But I just want to make clear that we’re thinking about the victims, too.”