Eventually there was sex. As he had learned earlier, Matt Sandusky said he kept his mouth shut and told no one what was going on. Matt Sandusky said he was sexually abused by his adopted father.
The boy grew into a teenager. He did drugs and drank alcohol to dull the pain of the abuse. And when that didn't work, Matt Sandusky said he would heat up a metal object to red hot and burn himself seeking an emotional release.
Jerry Sandusky stalked him at school, where a guidance counselor would pull him out of class to meet alone in an office with his abuser. Then, Matt Sandusky and his cousin skipped school to hide out in a truck parked in a barn. On a lark, they lighted paper and stuck it in the truck's glove box. The truck caught fire. It spread to the barn.
Matt was sent to a juvenile detention facility for arson. Calling from California where he was with the team, Jerry Sandusky spoke with a judge. Matt Sandusky said he was told he had two options: go to a detention center in Pittsburgh or live with the Sandusky family.
Living with the Sandusky family offered him the opportunity of a better life, but the sex abuse continued, he said. At 17 years old, Matt Sandusky said he had a relationship with a girl also living with the family. They decided to commit suicide, first taking pills.
When that didn't work, they decided to die in a car by carbon monoxide poisoning. When the girl became sick, Matt Sandusky said he drove them both to the hospital. He woke up in a hospital bed to find Jerry Sandusky there. Officials investigated Jerry Sandusky's abuse of other children and at the beginning of the trial Matt Sandusky stood with the rest of the family in support of Jerry Sandusky.
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Don't settle for anything less than responsible journalism. It takes everything they have just to carry on. As parents, we do not want to instill our children with dread and apprehension about people, life and potential perpetrators.
We can, however, use positive tools to help keep our children aware and empowered without overwhelming them. It is essential to teach children about physical boundaries from an early age. It is important for them to understand that if someone touches them in an inappropriate area—or if they are asked to touch someone else in a private area— it is absolutely necessary to tell the parent.
The mother insisted that her son go anyway. We must pay attention to what children are saying…or not saying. Survivors tell us that the failure of a parent to believe them is a wound that never truly heals. Research over the past several years shows that trauma impairs our neurobiology. In an act of self-preservation, the brain limits recall.
Memories of the event may return in fragments or random waves. Some events may be blocked temporarily or permanently by a phenomenon known as traumatic amnesia. As trauma professionals gain more understanding into physical and psychological coping mechanisms, we learn that the recounting of traumatic events rarely follows a linear and logical pattern. The root cause could be any number of things, but it is our job as adults to find out why and respond accordingly.
Child sexual predators are cunning. They watch. They learn. They identify victims whom they view as vulnerable and controllable. Interviews with hundreds of child sexual abusers reveal the same findings. Predators seek out children who are accessible and appear to have minimal parental engagement or supervision. It began as a group foster home for troubled boys.
The coach created an ideal environment to commit sexual crimes against children. Nearly all of the victims testifying in the Sandusky trial were affiliated with Second Mile. Perpetrators entice children and families with perks, special outings, or advantages that the family unit cannot—or does not—provide. Once trust is established, the abusers begin to test the sexual boundaries of the child.
In the Sandusky case, the coach had a lot to offer. As a Penn State insider, he came with a cache of prestige and connections. He repeatedly took boys on weekend outings to sports camps, out-of-town football games and college bowl events.
We learned much from the Sandusky case, but unfortunately most of it is not new information. Experience has shown that it can take years for men of prominence to be exposed. The timeline of the Sandusky case established during the trial speaks volumes. Sadly, it often requires an alarming body of evidence and a series of victims to bring an abuser to justice. The molestation of children by priests—sometimes over decades—is a classic example. The Sandusky case is yet another.
We may never know the extent of how many boys Sandusky victimized. What we do know is that a man of his position was allowed to commit horrific abuse against children, while his peers, his colleagues, the campus police, and local law enforcement officials appeared to have turned a blind eye. Current and former Penn State officials are now under investigation for perjury and failure to report abuse allegations. A grand jury is reviewing more sexual abuse allegations against Sandusky.
Our laws and our social fabric must change. Witnesses should not be afraid to speak up.
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