Penn State Child Molestations: How many really knew?

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As with most crimes there are invariably more witnesses than meets the eye, and the vicious child molestations by Jerry Sandusky are no exception.

Here’s the summary:

With Joe Paterno fired—and assistant coach Mike McQueary on “administrative leave”—have all those who kept quiet about on-campus child molestations been publicly outed? Not by a long shot, reports McClatchy. Parents, janitors, and other school supervisors knew or suspected that Jerry Sandusky was raping boys in the showers. “They were probably thinking of their kids, and where their next meal was coming from,” says one advocate for child sex abuse victims. “Who could say how we would act if it affected our job?”

According to a grand jury presentment, a school janitor saw Sandusky performing oral sex on an underage boy, but reported nothing after telling a supervisor. The parents of two alleged victims did speak to authorities in 1988, which led to an on-campus investigation—which means that Penn State police officers, university legal staff, and district attorney workers who saw the school’s report may have known but remained silent. “The bottom line is we as a society don’t know what to do,” says one law professor. “The fear and shame that surrounds this issue precludes people from reporting it.”

So what do you think about the Penn State University child molestations? Are there more witnesses who are just afraid to come forward?