Penn State Scandal: Janitors, Parents Also Knew

With Joe Paterno and Penn State's president both fired—and assistant coach Mike McQueary on "administrative leave"—has everyone who kept quiet about on-campus child abuse been publicly outed? Not by a long shot, reports McClatchy. Parents, janitors, and other school supervisors also 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 only told 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." (Click here to see Jon Stewart shame Penn State rioters.)