Convicted US Sex Offender, Jerry Sandusky
The other day, I was discussing Jimmy Savile with an American friend. He'd never heard of the late Sir Jim, and it was quite an experience, describing the disgraced knight's rise to prominence, his many awards and honours and his status in British life. I then told him of Jimmy's fall from grace after death and of his many revolting crimes against minors (and possibly young miners) during his lifetime.
My friend, in turn, told me of a very similar case that has happened in the USA - that of the equally despicable child molester, Jerry Sandusky. Some of the features in the Sandusky affair chillingly resemble those of the Savile case. Sandusky, like Savile, was a widely respected public figure. For 30 years, he was the assistant American Football coach at Pennsylvania State University, receiving awards for sports coaching twice in his long career. Another interesting parallel with Savile is that he was very active in charity work, founding his own charity, "The Second Mile" where (shades of Savile again) he met disturbed young boys who became his molestation victims. Disgustingly, and again like Jimmy S, most of his victims were between the ages of 8 to 12. Savile made a point of abusing young girls who were vulnerable and unlikely to be believed (like Broadmoor patients); Sandusky seems to have specialised in molesting young boys from one-parent families. Many people suspected Savile of nefarious activities but ignored it; three senior figures from Penn State, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and Gary Schulz, now stand accused of failing to inform the Pennsylvania police of Sandusky's vile antics. Let's hope people in a similar position here are also called to account.
Such are the similarities, but there is, so far, one glaring difference: one courageous man, Mike McQueary and an equally intrepid reporter, Sara Ganim, fought to expose Sandusky. This didn't happen with Savile, despite constant rumours. The other obvious difference is that Sandusky was brought to trial and convicted. On October 9 this year, he was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in jail. And we all know that Savile escaped justice in his lifetime.
So, what do we take from these two cases? First, I think, that child abuse happens everywhere, and no society can afford to be complacent about it. Next, we must be aware that child molesters can be extremely cunning - especially the celebrities among them, and the voices of victims must not be ignored, as happened in the Savile case.
However, I believe that these cases will have a poisonous legacy, the impact of which has not yet been felt. In teaching, for example, there have been numerous false allegations made against teachers (both here and in the USA) leading, in many cases, to ruined careers and lives. I know this only too well - one of my friends, now dead, was a victim of just such accusations. These allegations, post-Savile and Sandusky, could well become more frequent.
Also, these scandals may well lead to other celebrities, who are not engaged in sex crimes and genuinely working for charitable causes, being unjustly suspected of sinister intentions and activities. This has certainly happened to hard-working, celibate, non-child molesting Catholic priests, following the numerous child abuse scandals that have bedevilled the Roman Catholic Church.
Jimmy Savile? Jerry Sandusky? When spoken aloud, those names will forever leave a nasty taste in the mouth.
