If the police were involved and were notified that a Penn State Staff member was accused of sexually abusing a child in the 90’s then wouldn’t it be fair to say that the police and the DA and the justice system wasn’t doing their jobs along with the Penn State faculty and Board of Trustees. I’m mean it appears that everyone who became aware of this case including the Police and DA FAILED!
I don't remember the name of the sports columnist who called this a conspiracy of cowardice, but his description was apt. It's staggering to think of the number of people and entire institutions that failed. Not institutions like Bob's Shop 'n Save Bait. Penn State, The Second Mile, two police departments, child welfare. Institutions responsible for youth and the protection of youth. It's hard to imagine that rumors didn't circulate.
The one guy I might give a slight pass to is DA Ray Gricar. Seriously. We don't know what evidence he had when he decided not to prosecute. We know that Victim #6 was not sexually assaulted according to the Grand Jury. When you read the accounts of Sandusky's relationships with the other victims, he built the physical relationship slowly from nonsexual touching, to noninvasive sexual touching, to invasive sex. Victim #6's mother caught it the first time Sandusky showered with the boy, and all that Sandusky did was to hug the boy, hold him under the shower nozzle, and shampoo his hair. I haven't looked at the statutory definition for various sexual offenses in Pennsylvania, but I doubt that is sufficient to get a conviction on anything. The investigation also involved a boy named 'B.J.' The presentment said that Sandusky's actions with B.J. were similar.
Unless the investigation by the two police departments and child welfare turned up another victim who was, in fact, sexually assaulted, I don't know that Gricar had anything to work with. Even child welfare only appears to have told Sandusky not to shower with boys. No other physical acts appear to have been disclosed during the 1998 investigation.
In one news account, Gricar's nephew said that Gricar "had a bitter taste in his mouth" for the Penn State program and Joe Paterno. Without much more than that, you get the idea that Gricar may have felt he was sandbagged or stonewalled by Penn State. On the other hand, somebody on FR pulled another case in which Gricar failed to prosecute a Penn State football player for indecent exposure, or something similar.
But Gricar may have been grinding his teeth when he dismissed charged against Sandusky. I'm not stating that as a fact, I'm just positing it. If all Gricar had to go on was showering with a boy, with no sexual contact, and Gricar was stonewalled by Penn State, then Gricar may not have been able to do anything but drop the prosecution. Because Gricar may not have had the elements of a case against Sandusky.