A Penn State trustee admits he has little compassion for the “so-called victims” of sexual abuse by former football coach Jerry Sandusky.
Albert Lord, a university trustee and former chief executive of student loan giant Sallie Mae, recently made the shocking statement in an email to the Chronicle of Higher Education. He sent the email days after the conviction of former Penn State President Graham Spanier for child endangerment in relation to Sandusky’s crimes.
Lord wrote:
“Running out of sympathy for 35 yr old, so-called victims with 7 digit net worth. Do not understand why they were so prominent in trial.”
Sandusky was convicted in June 2012 of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year time period. He was found guilty on 45 of 48 total counts and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. Since then, Penn State has paid out $93 million in legal settlements to more than 30 victims, according to Philly.com.
Jurors convicted the 68-year-old Spanier on March 24 for not alerting child-welfare authorities in 2001 after Sandusky had been caught showering with a boy in a campus locker room after hours, according to Lancaster Online.
The charge is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Spanier was found not guilty of both criminal conspiracy and a second count of endangering the welfare of children.
Lord told the Chronicle that the horrors of Sandusky’s crimes made it impossible for the public to determine whether officials like Spanier had acted inappropriately based on the knowledge they had at the time.
“I am tired of victims’ getting in the way of clearer thinking and a reasoned approach to who knew what and who did what,” he said.
Jury foreman Richard Black told Lancaster Online he believes the verdict in Spanier’s trial was a “mistake,” and that he was conflicted about not changing his vote and possibly forcing a mistrial.
Other jurors disagree.
“Obviously he knew children were at risk for something,” juror Victoria Navazio told the Associated Press after the trial. “He knew there was a problem.”
Lord told the Chronicle that he knows using terms like “so-called victims” might seem shocking, but he refuses to apologize for his comments.
“The notion that there can be only one point of view with respect to all this stuff,” he said, “and trustees at Penn State should toe a line that reflects the politically correct point of view, is symptomatic of what ails us.”
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