Some months ago, I ran a number of analysis pieces about the child sex abuse charges against Jerry Sandusky. By now, it’s widely known that he was convicted on 45 of the 48 counts against him. As is usual in such high-profile cases, there’s much “Monday morning quarterbacking” going on. Personally, I’ll let the jurors do the talking.
The one thing that still stands out, though, is Joe Amendola’s closing statement to the jurors. In it, he says that it doesn’t make sense for Jerry Sandusky to suddenly become a pedophile after 68 years of spending time with kids.
“When this case has gone worldwide. With all this publicity, the earlier allegations are in the 1990s?… So, not only do we have a pedophile who doesn’t become a pedophile until his mid 50s, but he writes a book and puts all of his victims in the book. That’s smart,” Amendola said.
Of course, that is hard to believe. Hard to believe because it’s probably not true. Jerry Sandusky didn’t “suddenly” become a pedophile in his fifties. The literature suggests that the onset of pedophilia usually comes early.
Notes one study: “More than 40 percent molest before they reach age 15, and the majority molest before age 20.”
There is a reason why the State of Pennsylvania is continuing their investigation against Jerry Sandusky. It’s highly likely that the man has a 50-year history of child sexual abuse. The world knows about it now because starting in the 1990’s, Sandusky created a situation at The Second Mile that gave him considerable access to potential victims. Will they come forward in a flood, now that he’s been convicted? Hard to tell. But they’re out there. They certainly are out there.