Differences between Penn State, Michigan State [GANIM CHIMES IN]

[Lion Lineage]

You could add the Unabomber to that photo as well....

Oh yeah, forgot about THAT Michigan man. That would be great. Des, Nassar, Lewan, the Pedo doctor - don’t forget that guy - the Unabomber, and Lewan. ALL Michigan Men. LOL!

 

[ChiTownLion]

Don't forget Jack Kevorkian.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

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Wha-bit he-ba try-bi-ing to-ba say-bidit?

 

[AWS1022]

Culture of nonsense.

Desmond Howard- culture of affirmative action gone wrong.

 

[NittPicker]

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This kind of stuff is what pisses me off. People claim they want the truth exposed in order to prevent something from happening again but court orders prevent it. What a great society we live in.

 

[odshowtime]

Someone should beat desmond howard's face in with a baseball bat. That worthless, lowlife, hypocritical, ignorant, big mouth, wolverine shill motherfer. God damn it I hate that piece of human excrement.

 

[canuckhal]

This kind of stuff is what pisses me off. People claim they want the truth exposed in order to prevent something from happening again but court orders prevent it. What a great society we live in.

I thought the Paternos dismissed their lawsuit voluntarily with no strings attached. So, what court order would he be violating, especially when he has spoken against the allegations before?

 

[NittPicker]

I thought the Paternos dismissed their lawsuit voluntarily with no strings attached. So, what court order would he be violating, especially when he has spoken against the allegations before?

Good question. I wouldn't think the 71 and 76 allegations, as ridiculous as they are, had anything to do with the Paterno suit. I'm sure there was an NDA when those two complaints were settled but it's hard to believe Scott would be bound by that. If he knows something and wasn't a party in the settlement, why the secrecy? Weird.

 

[Connorpozlee]

CNN's Jean Casarez and Sara Ganim contributed to this report:

Did Michigan State fail to stop Larry Nassar like Penn State did with Jerry Sandusky?
Posted: Feb 01, 2018 1:14 PM
By Eric Levenson CNN

(CNN) -- For years, a popular sports figure used his position of trust to sexually abuse vulnerable minors, all under the nose of a major state university. The public reckoning with that abuse forced out the university president and other leaders and set off extensive investigations.

Even as the case of Larry Nassar at Michigan State University continues to unfold, its similarities to that of Jerry Sandusky, who was arrested in 2011 for sexually abusing young boys at Penn State University and elsewhere, are striking. And they raise questions about how a seemingly parallel nightmare unfolded at Michigan State less than a decade after the Penn State saga.

Investigators' findings at Penn State led to the criminal convictions of Sandusky and top campus officials and tarnished the legacy of the university and its storied football program. Michigan State has denied any cover-up of Nassar's abuse. Still, the president and athletics director last month resigned amid pressure.

For his part, Michigan State's attorney has rejected the Penn State comparison.

"Although both involve horrible actions by disturbed individuals -- Sandusky and Nassar -- the role of the University here is different," Patrick Fitzgerald wrote in December to Michigan's attorney general.

"In the Penn State matter, it appears that high-ranking officials were aware of sexual abuse by an employee, decided to report the abuse to law enforcement, and then changed their minds and did not report the abuse," he wrote. "In the MSU matter, we believe the evidence will show that no MSU official believed that Nassar committed sexual abuse prior to newspaper reports in late summer 2016."

However, in both cases, experts told CNN, a series of textbook errors paved the way for crimes to be committed against children, their abusers jailed -- likely for life -- and intense scrutiny to fall upon university officials who were supposed to be keeping watch.

"There's no way to absolutely prevent an employee from doing something bad once," said Scott Berkowitz, board president and founder of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. "But where the institutional breakdown comes is, once you start hearing allegations, doing little or nothing about it."

Here's a look at how the two situations compare.

Both perpetrators were revered, ...

Nassar, a team doctor for USA Gymnastics, became an associate professor at Michigan State in 1997, and he often treated young women affiliated with the school's sports teams. His work with the US women's Olympic gymnastics team made him a respected figure on campus, and several women said in court that he had a god-like status.

"My mom and I felt very lucky we were able to get an appointment at his office because of his exceptional reputation," Whitney Mergens said at Nassar's sentencing in a Michigan court in January.

Sandusky was the defensive coordinator for Penn State's football team for 23 years under legendary head coach Joe Paterno. He retired from coaching in 1999 and received emeritus status, so he had full access to the Penn State campus.

Sandusky also founded The Second Mile, a charity that helped troubled youth, some from broken homes.

Nassar's and Sandusky's respected positions in their communities helped shield them from critical oversight, Berkowitz said.

"It's always hard to believe a bad thing about someone you respect and admire," he said. "And that's true in the most private of cases, when it's a teacher or coach at a local school district."

... both preyed on vulnerable victims ...

Nassar used his status to systematically sexually abuse girls under the guise of providing medical treatment, he admitted in court.

More than 150 women told a Michigan court remarkably similar stories of him penetrating them with ungloved fingers during medical appointments.

The majority of Nassar's victims were young teenagers. In addition, many were injured athletes looking for treatment and pain relief. What they got instead was sexual abuse.

Sandusky was convicted of sexually abusing at least 10 boys over 15 years, though similar allegations date to the 1970s.

Prosecutors cast Sandusky as a pedophile who preyed on victims using the charity he founded. Eight young men testified again him, often in disturbingly graphic detail, and described how Sandusky forced them to engage in sexual acts in places including the Penn State coaches' locker room showers, hotel rooms and the basement of his home.

"This is a case about a sexual predator who used his position within the university and community to repeatedly prey on young boys," Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly said of Sandusky in 2011.

Predators seek out victims who are especially vulnerable, said Charol Shakeshaft, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and an expert on sexual abuse in schools.

"A predator looks for children who would be least likely to tell (authorities), and most likely to trust them or to be able to be talked into trusting them," she said. "That's how they choose."

... and after decades, both got caught.

Within a week of a September 2016 report by The Indianapolis Star detailing claims by Rachael Denhollander of abuse by Nassar, the physician was fired by Michigan State. Fifty more women in short order shared similar stories of abuse with Michigan State police and the state's attorney general, and Nassar was arrested and charged that November.

Nassar pleaded guilty to seven charges of criminal sexual conduct in Ingham County, Michigan, and was sentenced in January to as many as 175 years in prison. He also was sentenced to 60 years in prison on federal child pornography charges, and he pleaded guilty to three other criminal sexual conduct charges in Eaton County, Michigan.

Nassar was "a monster that left me with more pain and scars than I came to his office with," gymnast Jade Capua said at Nassar's Ingham County sentencing.

Sandusky was arrested in November 2011, more than two years after a Pennsylvania grand jury began investigating a 15-year-old's complaint to school and law enforcement authorities that the assistant coach had had inappropriate contact with him over four years starting when he was 10.

Sandusky was found guilty in 2012 of 45 counts related to sexual abuse in connection with 10 victims. He was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison; his latest appeal was denied.

"The predator is going to be a predator," Shakeshaft said. "The people who can stop it is the bystanders. The people who see things happening, the people who hear a student complaining, ... if they're trained, they'll be able to help step up and stop it."

Staff failed to heed warnings ...

Several women said in court that they reported Nassar's abuse to Michigan State authorities but were dismissed or ignored.

Larissa Boyce said she and another accuser told Michigan State's head gymnastics coach Kathie Klages that Nassar had abused her. But rather than being protected, Boyce was "humiliated" and "brainwashed," she said in court.

"This could have stopped in 1997," Boyce said. "But instead of notifying authorities or even my parents, we were interrogated. We were led to believe we were misunderstanding a medical technique."

Klages retired last year after reportedly being suspended for defending Nassar. Her attorney, Steve Stapleton, told CNN his firm is representing her in federal civil litigation related to Nassar and won't comment on pending cases.

Other women who were abused by Nassar said they told other trainers or others at Michigan State but experienced similar pushback.

"Michigan State University, the school I loved and trusted, had the audacity to tell me that I did not understand the difference between sexual assault and a medical procedure," said Amanda Thomashow, who was the first woman to file an official complaint against Nassar under the federal Title IX law accusing him of violating the school's sexual harassment policy

Michigan State ultimately sided with Nassar in the Title IX inquiry, concluding that his methods were medically appropriate. And, according to documents obtained by CNN, the university gave Nassar and Thomashow different versions of its investigative report, with hers devoid of a top school official's concerns about Nassar.

Meantime, at least 14 Michigan State University representatives received reports of sexual misconduct by Nassar in the 20 years leading up to his arrest, a Detroit News investigation found.

At Penn State, several top administrators knew of allegations against Sandusky but didn't do enough to stop him, investigations have revealed.

As early as 1976, one alleged victim told Paterno he'd been molested by Sandusky, court documents show. Paterno allegedly dismissed his report, saying, "I have a football season to worry about," the records show. Paterno and his family have denied his role in any cover-up.

Further, emails released in 2012 as part of Penn State's internal investigation show that in 2001, then-Penn State officials -- President Graham Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz -- discussed two alleged cases of abuse by Sandusky but didn't contact police.

One was a 1998 case in which a victim's mother filed a police report claiming her son had been inappropriately touched by Sandusky in the football locker room shower. The district attorney declined to prosecute.

The other case involved then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary's claim that he witnessed Sandusky in 2001 sexually abusing a boy in the football locker room showers. McQueary the following day reported the incident to Paterno, who told Curley and Schultz, then left the matter in their hands, Paterno and McQueary have said. Sandusky was convicted in 2012 in connection with the case.

Officials who receive such complaints should "investigate -- even if you don't have all the evidence you need in that first allegation," Berkowitz said.

"Take steps to prevent it," he said, "to lower the risk of it happening again."

Parents and kids, too, should be trained to recognize misconduct so they know to report a problem, Shakeshaft said.

"For kids, what should you look for? What should and shouldn't be happening? And for adults, what do you need to look for? If your child reports any of these things, report it to us immediately," she said.

... and faced their own repercussions.

Michigan State has acknowledged some process failures but has denied a deliberate cover-up of Nassar's abuse. No school officials face criminal charges.

Even so, Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon has resigned and Athletics Director Mark Hollis stepped down under pressure.

A special prosecutor also has been tasked with looking into "every corner" of Michigan State and how it responded to allegations against Nassar.

"You have to bear with us," attorney William Forsyth said upon his appointment. "This is almost 20 years of predatory conduct on the part of Nassar."

Meantime, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has said her department would investigate, the NCAA has opened its own inquiry, and Michigan lawmakers want unredacted records of Michigan State's investigations of Nassar.

Sandusky's alleged pattern of abuse led to Spanier's and Paterno's firings days after the grand jury report's release in November 2011. Paterno died two months later at age 85.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh later led Penn State's $6.5 million internal investigation, though his report is no longer available at the university's website.

"Four of the most powerful people at Penn State failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade," Freeh said in 2013, referring to Paterno and the three former campus leaders. Paterno's family slammed Freeh's report as "factually wrong."

Spanier, Curley and Schultz were convicted in 2017 on misdemeanor child endangerment charges. Each was sentenced to several months in prison.

The key to any investigation into alleged crimes and a possible plot to hide them is its independence, experts told CNN.

"Just remember that a university's attorneys -- or any institution's attorneys -- are there to protect the institution, not to protect the child," Shakeshaft said. "So, you need outside examiners, you need an outside presence, because otherwise, the pressure is on to protect the institution, not the child."

Independent investigations also should be completely transparent to best serve the public's interest, Berkowitz said.

"Particularly a public institution like Michigan State," he said, "the public deserves to know what happened."

CNN's Jean Casarez and Sara Ganim contributed to this report.

On a completely related note, it just started snowing outside my house. Awaiting Ganim’s flight to arrive at the airport to cover the event.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

Anything with Ganim as a contributor is garage. She's investing in not looking deeper into Penn State's role as it relates to Sandusky.

No shit...consider that she allowed the following inaccurate statement into her contribution:

McQueary the following day reported the incident to Paterno, who told Curley and Schultz, then left the matter in their hands, Paterno and McQueary have said. Sandusky was convicted in 2012 in connection with the case.

That was one of the few cases that Sandusky was NOT convicted. Yet Sara seems to believe that if you print it enough, it’ll become the truth.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

On a completely related note, it just started snowing outside my house. Awaiting Ganim’s flight to arrive at the airport to cover the event.

 

[MJG-90]

That was one of the few cases that Sandusky was NOT convicted.

Actually he was convicted of some charges in that case. But was found not guilty of others.

 

[Langmuir]

He was acquitted of the most serious charge. Ganim did not out right lie, it is just a lie by ommision. That s what journalism is all about these days.

 

[Royal_Coaster]

Sara is down for the story!

F***in-ay, yeah! Biotch hasn't been near a keyboard since last May. Hope her fingers haven't frozen up.

 

[Royal_Coaster]

Good question. I wouldn't think the 71 and 76 allegations, as ridiculous as they are, had anything to do with the Paterno suit. I'm sure there was an NDA when those two complaints were settled but it's hard to believe Scott would be bound by that. If he knows something and wasn't a party in the settlement, why the secrecy? Weird.

Exactly, who would the NDA cover in that case? Because the two accusers ran directly to Sara/CNN and that Tom guy at NBC sports via Bernie McCue. So they get to make up a bullshit story, get money AND get to trash Paterno? NDA must have stood for Non-Delayed Announcement in that case. Thanks, Ira.

 

[Legion of Lions]

PSU hires Freeh to conduct investigation and allows Free h to grandstand at his own press conference and makes Freeh Report public.

MSU hires Patrick Fitzgerald, to conduct internal investigation and apparently there is no report and they refuse to release any findings publicly.

“Any credible investigation ends in a report, otherwise there is no investigation,” Manly said. “What has happened here is MSU has hired a very good defense lawyer, which they are entitled to do. Apparently the strategy that they have asked him to employ is to close the gate and bar the door on information about what the university knew and what they knew about Larry Nassar.”

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne.../08/msu-larry-nassar-investigation/108437686/

You hit on one major difference here and one which STRONGLY SUGGESTS that the PSU Assassination was engineered with the coordination & cooperation of our own OGBOT.

With MSU, the investigation was conducted to advise the BOT where the LEGAL breaches in MSU responsibilities were made and, quite possibly, how in the future to protect the University from such exposures going forward.

AT PSU, the investigation was conducted to advance the "Story" the AG office PAID PROFESSIONALS (See movie "Wag the Dog" for a flavor of how this works) TO CREATE. This fiction construction of the PSU hiding Sandusky Crimes Story has been PROVEN to have required collaboration with OGBOT, Freeh & the AG Office (also the B1G). So, the grand purpose of the Freeh's "Investigation" to re-inforce the OAG "Story", promote the OGBOT's need to remove TSM from investigation and to generally provide MORE MIS-INFORMATION to a corrupt & beholding media for them to promote FOREVER!!!

And where did the selection of Freeh come from....the same place ALL the key "players" in this "Story" came from - "One Term" Tommy Corbett. This is NOT a coincidence!!! The purpose of the Freeh "Report" was to advance the core message of the "Story" the OAG paid for --- that PENN STATE ALONE was the state's chief criminal "enabler of Pedophilia" - no need to look any further....CASE CLOSED. This was the reason for the Grand Standing "Press Release" held by Freeh and why it so directly mirrored the OAG presser for the Sandusky arrest.

PSU's use of "Investigation" was to HIDE the truth....with MSU, they could take a more traditional (and reasonable) approach and protect the University WITHOUT providing to the public media any more "Media Bullets" of MSU administrative legal guilt that what was already known.

In the PSU Sandusky Scandal, the "Story" would be a much more difficult "sell". WHY??? Because there was very little legal evidence to link PSU's legal responsibility to Sandusky's PERSONAL crimes. In fact, they needed to use "special powers" inherent in the State of PA which would allow PA courts to IGNORE ILLEGAL TESTIMONY and illegal court processes. Only the State of PA could do that because key evidence could be SELECTIVELY "Hidden" from the public via Grand Jury Secrecy powers.

In spite of all this ability to manipulate what the public was told, without the "Story" initially calling upon the "Noonan effect" of "Moral Responsibility to do MORE than the legal minimum", the entire PUBLIC CASE against Paterno and C/S/S could have been in jeopardy and abandoned by the media because Paterno could not be as easily "Targeted" for what "he must have known".

Contrast PSU's legal situation with what is known to exist for MSU ---- there are MOUNTAINS of SOLID EVIDENCE that multiple layers of MSU administration turned a Blind eye to anyone who charged Nasser with anything criminal.

MSU's actual case of a "Criminal Sport's Culture" is what the constructed Penn State "Story" was supposed to be and what was sold to the public.

 

[kgilbert78]

I found this point interesting:


Further, emails released in 2012 as part of Penn State's internal investigation show that in 2001, then-Penn State
officials -- President Graham Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Vice President Gary Schultz -- discussed two
alleged cases of abuse by Sandusky but didn't contact police.

One was a 1998 case in which a victim's mother filed a police report claiming her son had been inappropriately touched
by Sandusky in the football locker room shower. The district attorney declined to prosecute.

How are they responsible for reporting this case/contacting the police when it was reported--and acted on--elsewhere??

 

[ChiTownLion]

Not to mention how Frank Fina and Louis Freeh both concede that PSU reported to the head of police. FRANK FINA WENT ON NATIONAL TV TO DRIVE HOME THIS POINT.