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Subscribe to RSSFormer Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky will now begin the next phase of his life as a convicted child sex offender. NBC's John Yang reports.
ANALYSIS
Friday night was not a good night for the Penn State community but you couldn't tell it from the atmosphere outside the courtroom.
Jerry Sandusky was convicted of the overwhelming majority of the child sex abuse counts of against him. The verdict revealed that the jury believed the account of every of major witness the prosecution presented. There were only three verdicts of 'not guilty' in the 48 counts Sandusky faced.
Wes Oliver is a professor at Widener University who teaches criminal law and procedure. This fall he will join the faculty of the Duquesne University School of Law as a professor and director of the school's criminal justice program.Each of the not-guilty verdicts revealed that the jury trusted the witness presenting the evidence but thought his account failed to satisfy the elements of one of the crimes.
One of the three not-guilty verdicts involved Mike McQueary's testimony. The jury concluded that McQueary's testimony that he observed Sandusky and a boy in the shower did not establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, actual sex had occurred between Jerry Sandusky and an unidentified boy in the shower.
McQueary himself testified that he was not sure what he saw but inferred that sex had occurred from the circumstances. The jury's conclusion perfectly mapped with McQueary's own testimony.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly speaks outside the courthouse in Bellefonte after Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of child sex-abuse.
The jury's conclusion that McQueary observed indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor demonstrated that the jury believed McQueary saw something improper and illegal, but not necessarily actual sex, as he admitted.
Full coverage of the Jerry Sandusky trial
Matt Sandusky: From staunch defender to damning accuser
Ghosts of Sandusky's dreams haunt home where charity was born
The two other not-guilty verdicts involved victims who described inappropriate contact in showers with Sandusky.
The jury found that Sandusky sought sexual gratification in his interaction with each of the victims. The descriptions each of these victims offered were somewhat vague. The jury therefore concluded that the actual touching they described was insufficient to establish a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
The jury nevertheless concluded that each of these victims had established that Sandusky's motives in his interactions with them were sexual in nature and convicted him of unlawful contact with a minor, endangering the welfare of a minor, and corruption of a minor.
The eight witnesses demonstrated a range of credibility. Ultimately the jury concluded that all of the victims were credible but carefully examined their testimony to see if it established the crimes alleged.
It is entirely possible that no single victim could have prevailed in the he-said, he-said conflict in this case. But the victims reinforced one another. The odds that they were all lying were too remote for the jury to conclude anything other than they were all telling the truth.
MSNBC's Ed Schultz talks with Jeff Herman, an attorney who specializes in representing sexual abuse victims, about the difficulties the victims in the Sandusky case would have had in stepping forward with allegations.
Outside the courtroom, a cheerful crowd applauded the verdict, lawyers for the prosecution and the police investigators. We as a society should never applaud having to punish one of own, even when the punishment is fitting. Beyond the crowd's unseemly response, such an atmosphere threatens to undermine our system of justice. Subsequent juries in high profile cases will know how they will be received if they render a verdict that meets with society's approval. More substantially, they may fear the public reaction if its will is thwarted by 12 of its citizens.
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Now lets see the penalty phase and hope real justice is done, even if it comes late.
He's 68 years old and the MINIMUM he could get (based on the fact that the judge has zero leeway in some of the sentencing) is 60 years. I expect the judge will be MUCH harsher than that, taking things into account his complete lack of remorse so far (and insistence on innocence) and the fact that he established a charity for the same kids he was molesting. In essence, he set up his own "farm system" to funnel kids to himself. I expect something much closer to the maximum of 440 years...
He will die in prison a old man, a F-, for Penn State; they knew all those years and choice to do nothing.
A bullet, or handful of them, is cheaper than paying for his incarceration until he dies. The death penalty should apply to this type of crime.
Penn State:
A University who puts Sports Teams/Winning at the top of the list for priorities. I assumed it is an Academic school of learning, graduating with a Professional Degree, or getting some higher level of education...
Rape, Sexual Molestation of young minors must be one of their "Majors" for Sport Team Officials..
Penn State University has now got a Reputation, and isn't for Academic reasons.
The MSNBC Analysis is very good. It could have been a real "squeaker"; because there was not a lot of true evidence coming from McQueary seeing, assuming the act was going on. Hearsay. It was the Victims who the Jury relied on---for the truth.---The same Pattern of behavior.
Thank You Victims for being courageous, brave enough to speak out and seek Justice.
How could the Staff at Penn State/Paterno/all involve ignore
I don't agree that the analysis was totally unbiased. That the crowd behaved "unseemly" and that might influence other juries is hogwash. After the OJ and Anthony debacles, American needed to have its faith in our justice system renewed...That is what they were celebrating. We have seen so much politics and people getting away with crimes--The Powell Case--that we certainly needed to see a guilty person sent to prison. The judge could have left him out on bail pending appeal--He didn't...Another cause for celebration. The first judge didn't recuse herself before giving a pedophile (in that case, a possible pedophile to be exact) bail...He was seen at the Mall, for heaven's sake. No, this analysis that we should not celebrate anyone's guilt is pure bs. It is what we do when justice actually happens as it should. Nobody is burning flags or shooting into the air or stomping of replicas of the offender--That would be what is happening in Northwest Africa and the Arab states. Give the crowd a break...Who the hell is this analyzer to admonish the crowd for their reaction? Who died and left him....anything.
I agree. The analyst needs to analyze himself. The public has a right to approve or disapprove anything they want to. Some recent verdicts have defied belief, and if a pedophile gets away with the crime just because they are one of the good old boys we have cause to disapprove. Likewise, just because someone has money or celebrity they get away with crimes? That kind of garbage goes on often enough, and it needs to stop. I believe that is what people were actually celebrating. I celebrate it, too!
*I think the analyst is far from unbiased. It was the best night for Penn State.
I agree. Whoever wrote this was jaded as hell. "We shouldn't applaud convicting one of our own?" I don't consider a child rapist "one of my own" buddy!
Hopefully the victims will testify and make the perpetrator pay dearly for his crimes..
I am heartened that the Jury carefully weighed the testimony each victim gave. I hope that the penalty fits the crimes he has been convicted of. I don't know whether there is a fixed penalty for each crime and thus we move to sentencing or whether there will be a penalty phase prior to sentencing, but hopefully Sandusky will go to jail for a VERY long time.
I'm not sure why the author says, "Friday night was not a good night for the Penn State community". What do you mean? Friday night was certainly a good night for the Penn State community! This sick, twisted man, who destroyed the lives of many kids, who lied and deceived, who nearly destroyed the reputation of a wonderful university, was brought to justice.
...and this (hopefully) lays the groundwork for the upcoming trials of the other scum: Curley, Spanier, Shultz who were likely involved in a massive coverup.
THESE PEOPLE are not Penn State.
"May no act of ours bring shame" - Penn State Alma Mater
oh and don't forget his wife .... who also knew about the molestation going on in her home and did NOTHING to save those boys.
IF any of you think the Catholic Church mishandled their pedophilia sex abuse situation, then NOW is your chance to make a civilian government do it correctly.
FULLY investigate. Charge everyone who covered it up. Publish everything! OR, promote pedophilia by letting it slide like Penn State and "Second Mile" officials did for decades.
Sandusky could NOT have been the only pedophile. KEEP INVESTIGATING and get them all.
Write your news media and politicians, MAKE THEM accountable !
and the investigation needs to start with Tom Corbett and his actions to cover this up on his watch.
I wholeheartedly agree. If anyone that was equally immoral and motivated to gain from stagnation of justice pursuit, it was Tom Corbett.
Thats just political BS no DA can cover anything up It would take too many people who saw the evidence to make that happen.
@breadex.....It's not political BS. Do you live in Pennsylvania? A DA doesn't have to cover anything up; he or she can simply decide not to file charges.....which is what happened in 1999.
As for the current PA Governor.....he let this investigation drag on and on....until he was elected. Nuff said!
I think the jury is exactly right, it seems they looked at each charge individually, and considered the testimony that happened to support that charge, and decided each one...the comments in this story I find offensive are the "bad night for Penn State", because one man committed the crimes, and several covered it up, but the school itself, its students and alumni, are not guilty of anything other than the misfortune of the extremely bad decisions that were made by those in power, including Paterno...I also disagree that a jury in a high profile case need to follow the feelings of the media and public...if they take their job seriously and their verdict makes sense in that they consider all evidence and have reasonable explanation for the verdict, I think the public will agree for the most part...I am guessing he is referring back another high profile trial last year, where (in my opinion) the juror said there was not enough evidence to convict the one on trial, BUT was saying someone else was involved, despite no evidence.
It was a good night in the fact a serial sexual predator is off the streets. No more children will be raped by Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky deserves nothing but scorn and a very long unbearable life in prison until he dies. He put his victims into a prison, assaulting them, making sure they knew no one would believe them. He stole their childhoods and caused them unimaginable anguish and pain. That he is now convicted is justice delayed but ultimately not denied. But this is the tip of the iceberg. Because of the actions of the authorities at Penn State he was allowed to continue his sexual assaults at least ten or more years after credible evidence of him being a pedophile came to light. Ten years meaning there were victims testifying in that courtroom who could have been spared this horror. The evil that is Sandusky is locked up, but there are many more people who need to be held accountable for endangering and sacrificing children in the name of their God, Football.
great post.
it's sickening to think about how many more victims are out there ... who were too ashamed to come forward and probably sat silently watching how this was going to play out. there HAS to be more than these 8.
Thanks for the preachy concluding paragraph, Wes. The monster is in jail, and society should rejoice.
Now they need to go after is P.O.S. wife. She knew what was going on and allowed it to happen. It happened in her basement, while she was there,the kid was screaming and she "heard nothing". She should spend the rest of her life in jail for Aiding and Abetting a child molester!! Justice has yet to be served!!!
I agree completely!
oh not only in her basement, but in the bedroom across the hall from her bedroom.
all she cared about was her stature of a being a coach's wife ... and her paycheck. those things she couldn't do without and stood by as her husband systematically ruined the lives of many, many children.
she is an accessory and should be charged as such.
Amen.
Was there any actual physical evidence presented in this trial (video, audio, text, email)? I was just wondering.
From ABCNews "The evidence of eight young men emotionally and tearfully looking the jury in the eyes and saying, "That man molested me" -- without a response by Sandusky -- led to the conviction."
So the verdicts were based on testimony alone?
Same article "
Sandusky's defense could point to the fact that no physical evidence of molestation was presented, no independent objective witnesses came forward who really had no bias, and some of the witnesses changed their stories and were talking about filing lawsuits.
The defense appeared to be buoyed by such changing testimony as this case wound its tawdry way to trial.
But that really didn't matter to the jury. The jury clearly felt the evidence was that this man was a serial molester."
Thank you JimmyB!
douglas, PA; no there was no physical evidence, these molestations all occurred over a generation ago; the testimony of the victims was all that was needed; now the Prosecution is gunning after the officials at Penn, that covered it up all these years, it is called, mis-prison of a felony, and can carry many years in prison, if convicted.
Nope, no videos, no cell camera photos. Only testimony of victims and families. No dirty undies, only stories of kids who needed shorts after playing sink the salami with Uncle Sandusky. This is typical of ALL childhood sex crime evidence: the horrors create repressed testimony for years, and the perps' evidence washed away when the criminal's satisfaction arrived. many rapes of girls and women are too awful to tell right away, also.
Men, like women, can only try to recall the facts later. Some flaws creep in. So the legal system allows, as always, jury weighing of testimony. Been standard for centuries.
What did you want, dirty pictures or 10-year old kids brave enough to go tell cops they've just been raped by a powerful local figure? Have pity and faith in people and law. Finally, Sandusky's own son was willing to testify but the lawyers resisted. Child rape trials are not beanbag.
Bob, Penn State PhD
Actually I was just probing to see how people think...my little sociological experiment:)
wasn't that enough?
Last time I checked, eyewitness/victim testimony carries a pretty heavy weight in a court of law. Especially when it is repeated EIGHT times. So yes, the verdict was based on testimony alone, despite the fact that McQueary's evidence was removed by the jury as unproven. Hope that meets the standards of your "sociological experiment," Dougie boy.
So, Mr Wes Oliver feels that the reaction to the verdict was inappropriate? I submit to you, the following suggestion, Mr Oliver- Keep your personal opinions out of your legal "analysis", objectivity is supposed to be a part of that process.
Yes, it is sad that Jerry Sandusky chose to molest all those boys and it is sad that so many people chose to cover up for him. What is even sadder is the fact that these boys lives and psyches were destroyed by this monster. He abused his power to take something from those boys that they can never, ever regain.
The justice system worked as it was designed to and he was found guilty. Why is it wrong to be happy that a human predator was put away from society last night?
Blue Rose...Yup!! Right on the money!!! He can be as prissy as he likes and call the crowd, unseemly, but it doesn't change the fact that justice has prevailed and celebrating that is good for the soul.
Get a rope.
Jerry deserves much more, death would satrisfy, but the appeals would outlast his life.
As a general pediatrician, I have watched this story unfold with great interest. "Justice delayed, but not denied," is as good a phrase as any to attach to this tragedy, but we must not stop here. Jerry Sandusky is the most highly publicized American pedophile of recent times, but he is certainly not the only one. I hope this has finally awakened average citizens to the need to protect our children from such predators.
Having said the above, the coverage in the media of this trial has neglected to mention how inadequate our response to such allegations often is. Suppose Joe Paterno had gone outside his chain of command at Penn State, as many have suggested he should have done, and reported Sandusky to the proper authorities on suspicion of child sexual abuse. Even if Sandusky's stature in the Penn State football program and founder of The Second Mile children's charity had not been a factor,there is no guarantee those authorities would have done much, if anything, to investigate Sandusky. Many times the Department of Human Resources, Child Protective Services, and other agencies responsible for child protection at all levels of government simply do not have the manpower, money, time and training to follow through on the investigation of such complaints and rescue the victims of such crimes. If we are sincere in our intent to protect abused children, our society must realize that it will truly have to put its money where its mouth is in order to reform the totally inadequate manner in which we attempt to achieve that objective.
This was one of those crimes where people choose to not process it because 23 hours a day the criminal is just like us. We prefer to think that the criminal and the victim are different from us. That way we don't have to face what's going on in our own communities and families. We know what we saw or heard but when it's over we tell ourselves that maybe it wasn't real, and even so, maybe it'll never happen again. We don't want to risk being wrong.
This society is composed of chronic excuse-makers and we have to change that. Sexual abuse is rampant and instead of circling the wagons, we have to look at the abuser (spouse, relative, neighbor, co-worker), stop making excuses and turn the person out to face justice. How else can we save the kids?
Joe Paterno had no chain of command at Penn State.....Joe Paterno was the boss of Penn State! Nothing happened at that college unless he approved it!
Tom Corbett saw all the $ at Penn State and that swayed his mind, as the almighty dollar still does. He is a POX on all the people from Pennsylvania - can't wait to vote his Acc out!
We need to stop making heroes out of people who can toss balls around. Being healthy and in good shape is one thing, but idolizing people because of their athletic prowess is certainly getting us nowhere as a society, and being able to throw, catch, or kick a ball says nothing about one's character.
In other words, the jury saw through two of the "victims'" BS about truly being victims, and that they were willing turd-burglars, themselves. The rest of the victims truly were raped by the big, strong, adult child molestor. That's about the way I expected them to find, were they (the jurors) to do a Good Job, which they did. Now, just put him in a place where he can find the right thing to place it, give him a towel, conveniently "forget" he had it, and be "distracted" long enough for him to successfully hang himself until dead, and Every One will be the better for it, quite frugally.
A rope and a truck bumper would do nicely !, oh yea, and a quiet dirt road.
James - where on earth did you get that???? there was no "bs" by the victims - one hadn't been identified. this was the victim that McQuery saw / heard in the shower with Sandusky but didn't do anything to identify or stop it. the didn't convict on that charge because McQuery didn't actually SEE the sexual assault happen and with no victim to testify, they couldn't convict.
i do not get what you are talking about ... and that was a HORRIBLE statement to make. these were YOUNG BOYS when this happened. how DARE you imply that they liked what was happening.
James who the hell are you to call the victims what you called them. I can't even bring myself to type it out. If anyone here is a scum it is you! How dare you think that you have ANY right to call these victims any names or state any of your ignorant and obviously homophobic opinions. As far as I'm concerned you are as scummy and insignificant as Sandusky!
And I guess we will be in civil court now so they can all rake in the bucks!! If they can't work for a living you sue for a living!!! What a farce when it comes to our legal system!!!!
Mark, You are completely wrong! They should be in civil court to 'rake in the bucks'. They deserve every single penny they can get from what they have had to live through. You say that the legal system is a farce? Well, for once they got this one right!
and that wouldn't even begin to cover the life that was taken from them when they were being raped by someone who professed to care about them. they have a right to be compensated. if ONE person, out of the many who knew what was going on, had stood up for them - we wouldn't be here today and Sandusky would have been in prison a long time ago.
It would certainly remove doubts as to possible motives if one could only choose...civil or criminal prosecution.
It's so easy for judgmental guys like you to say that Douglas. Let's imagine if you were the small boy...who was sexually abused and raped by Sandusky. If you had your childhood ripped from you way before it ever should have been.... if you were abused and sodomized by a man on the premises of a school...if you were the boys who had their innocence ripped from them... while men of maturity and responsibility stood by and let it all happen. Let's see if you'd be the one calling for there to be ONLY civil & criminal prosecution. I doubt it very, very much. Yeah, right now, from the comfort of your keyboard... after having lived a life where you weren't abused and raped.. it's very easy for you to say you wouldn't want to make these men pay... with money. Holier than thou types like you...when faced with the reality... well you'd find out you're just like everyone else. So Douglas take your "socialigical experiments" that don't mean crap...and you're holier than thou attitude..insisting YOU wouldn't want to be compensated and get real.
The Wes Oliver "analysis", so obviously slanted in favor of Sandusky being an innocent victim, reeks of the kind of denial that permeated Penn State all the years Sandusky was virtually allowed to keep molesting/raping innocent kids. The level of such carefully-kept-in-place cynicism, in light of the incredibly brave, devastatingly painful testimony of the true (and only) victims in this case, reveals something close to sinister about Mr. Oliver. He seems to have a great NEED for Sandusky to have been found innocent. To compulsively turn a blind eye to such obvious guilt, with zero empathy for the many victims, makes one wonder if the testimony hit too close to home for Mr. Oliver, one way or another. And to Mark in Exton, try (I know it's hard for you, who are lucky you were never raped) to imagine what these victims suffered. Walk a mile in their bloodied underwear, then tell me you wouldn't sue the bastards who also turned a blind eye. You're a reactionary imbecile.
Thanks for ditcing my comment! I followed all the instructions! Guess you, like Wes Oliver, can't stand the verdict.
never mind
Does anyone care what MSNBC thinks.
They are the slim of the earth
Joe knew and Blew too
I agree, DebbyinAz - you nailed it on the head. Wes Oliver has something else on his mind.
I applaud this writer for adding, " Subsequent juries in high profile cases will know how they will be received if they render a verdict that meets with society's approval. More substantially, they may fear the public reaction if its will is thwarted by 12 of its citizens."
This should not be treated like a Roman gladiator event. It is not for the crowd's entertainment. Crime's punishments should be an example for would-be criminals, not for potential juries.
I agree Batty.