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no coincidence Sandusky preyed on fatherless boys

Posted by newshound on 2012-June-17 00:25:46, Sunday

The power of good fathers: It was no coincidence that Jerry Sandusky preyed on fatherless boys

Happy Father's Day to all the men who've loved, supported and protected their children, ensuring that they are never so desperate to belong somewhere that they mistake a pedophile for a father figure; never so starved for attention that they tolerate sexual abuse in exchange for it; never so scared and vulnerable that they keep the secret locked up inside them into adulthood.

This is how all eight of the young men who testified last week against Jerry Sandusky portrayed their younger selves. They were as young as 8 years old, most without fathers, from poor households where resources and nurturing were in short supply, when the former Penn State assistant football coach and alleged child rapist took an "interest" in them.

These were not hit-and-run incidents that the witnesses described, but close relationships that went on for years, making them all the more sinister.

It takes nothing away from single mothers who may have done all they could for their children to note that a caring, involved father would have stood as a bulwark against such exploitation.

A boy who has a good relationship with his dad doesn't want or need a Jerry Sandusky in his life. A father paying attention doesn't let such a figure draw his kid into such a sick and twisted web.

So it's no accident that the defendant targeted fatherless children. He knew they were easy targets who could be lured by gifts and attention, then held by fear of losing that sense of being "special" to someone important.

Where are the dads of these boys today? Do they know what happened to their sons? Do they care? Will they show up with their hands out if the inevitable civil suits lead to financial damages?

Their absence stands in contrast to the story of the young father in Shiner, Texas, who a few days ago discovered his 5-year-old daughter being sexually assaulted by a family acquaintance and beat the man to death. Friends and family said he'd never been a violent person, and that he did what any father would do in the circumstances. That may or may not be true, but the Sandusky case reminds us that a father can't protect his child if he's not in the picture.
[...]
Why didn't they report the abuse?

"I'm loving everything [else] that I'm getting," one of them said.

"He's an important guy," said another. "Everybody knows him. ... Nobody's going to believe kids."
[...]
newshound
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