Tuesday, July 10

Analysis: Is Ohio State another "UVa" (on steroids)?

The evidence in the Ohio State sex abuse investigation points to the media running with a story that was too good to fact check -- just like Rolling Stone ran with its story of a gang rape on the University of Virginia campus

By
Ray Blehar
July 10, 2018, 8:53 PM, EDT

Here we go again.

Sex abuse allegations at Ohio State University (OSU) have resulted in a (delayed) media onslaught against Ohio State coaches, and specifically, Congressmen Jim Jordan, who "had to know" about and "turned a blind eye" to abuses allegedly perpetrated by former team doctor Richard H. Strauss.

When it comes to reporting about sexual abuse on college campuses, the media seemingly can't separate fact from fiction.  It generally takes whatever the source gives them at face value and runs with it, ruining the reputations of many innocent people in the process.

While the media has already painted the OSU story as another Penn State and/or another Michigan State situation, there are two very critical and important differences that make the Columbus school unlike its conference brothers.

1. Those who were allegedly sexually abused on the campus were adults.
2.  Not a single one of them made a formal contemporaneous report to anyone.

The latter two facts make this case more akin to the allegations of "Jackie," the alleged victim in the UVa gang rape hoax that was reported by Rolling Stone.

And for OSU, the media's "Jackie" is Mike DiSabato.



NBC News and its source

NBC broke the story that Jordan "had to know" based on a video tape given to them by DiSabato.

Note that NBC seemingly had little interest in the investigation when OSU announced it in April.  Similarly, it had little to say when OSU provided an update in early May.

It wasn't until Congressmen Jordan began being featured on the news (with regard to the Mueller investigation) that DiSabato came forward to them with his tape.

The allegations that Jordan "had to know" about Strauss's abuse were too good for NBC to fact-check.

It also didn't bother to look into the credibility of its source.

DiSabato has filed numerous lawsuits against OSU seeking compensation from OSU over licensing of football jerseys (2006) and over use of athletes images (2017).  He and his companies were not overly successful in the lawsuits.

His company, Combat Athlete Coalition, specializes in representing former college athletes in matters of compensation and safety issues.  As such, DiSabato is in contact with many OSU former athletes.

Many former male varsity athletes are coming forward to allege abuse by Strauss.

Are they doing this on their own or were they contacted by DiSabato to come forward?

Finding that out should be on the agenda of Brickler and Eckler, LLP, the legal team hired to  investigate the OSU case.

An email sent by DiSabato to Congressman Jordan, however, seemingly provides the answer:

"I BCC over 250 of my VO BROTHERS WHO WERE RAPED and/or sexual prayed [sic] upon daily under the Buckeye banner which you wanna tie your brand ..." reads the May 6 email, which closes with the phrase: "#RapeCoverUpAWayOfLife."
OSU's lettermen's association is known as Varsity O or VO -- and there is little doubt that they were looped in by DiSabato.

The Accusers

According to the May update from OSU, former male varsity athletes affiliated with cheer leading, fencing, football, gymnastics, ice hockey, swimming, volleyball and wrestling have made confidential reports alleging Strauss abused them. 

As noted earlier, the OSU case is very different from the PSU and MSU cases because those accusing Jordan and other OSU wrestling coaches were adults at the time of the alleged abuse.

They were not young boys who were sexually immature, didn't understand the perpetrators actions, and were groomed into compliance by serial molester - as was the case with Jerry Sandusky.

Nor were they young female gymnasts (and their parents) who were fooled by Dr. Larry's Nassar's phony medical treatments or other young females that Nassar preyed upon as a result of opportunity.

These were adult men who allege that Dr. Richard Strauss was allegedly beyond necessary treatment when they saw him for exams.

And not a single one of them made a formal report on Strauss to the police or anyone else at the time of the abuse.

Neither did "Jackie" at UVa.


Where are the reports?

The first accuser, DiSabato, told NBC that Strauss blackmailed him into compliance by threatening to with hold his medications.   DiSabato also told the media that he put up with it because he was afraid of putting his scholarship in jeopardy.

If that's true, then why didn't DiSabato report Strauss immediately upon finishing his college eligibility -- when Strauss and Ohio State had no leverage over him?

Don't expect the media to ask such a logical question.

DiSabato alleges that the coaches (and Jordan) knew, however no documentary evidence of a report has been found. 

But even more unbelievable is that none of the reports to date have shown that any of the athletes ever told a parent or guardian about their alleged sexual abuse.  Again, this is in direct contrast to PSU and MSU, who received contemporaneous reports of misconduct from parents against Sandusky and Nassar, respectively.

And there's more.

Strauss was formerly employed at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Hawaii, and the University of Washington.

No records of complaints have been found by those schools.

Strauss also worked at two hospitals.

Based on all the reporting so far, there is not a single instance of Strauss ever being reported to an institution where he worked or to the police by anyone.

A statement from Strauss's family said they were "shocked and saddened" by the allegations and the "family seeks the truth."

A former group of OSU wrestling coaches, including former PSU All American and Olympic wrestler Ken Chertow, defended Jordan (and themselves).

"We all worked on the wrestling coaching staff during Jim's tenure...None of us saw or heard of abuse of OSU wrestlers.  If we had heard of any abuse we would have spoken up."

Ironically, eight men who allege abuse say that they want to see anyone who ignored concerns about Strauss held accountable and hope to ensure something similar doesn’t happen to others.

Really? 

Find a mirror, gentlemen.  

You were adults.  You knew what Strauss was doing.  And you did nothing to stop him and let it happen to others after you departed OSU. 

The sound you hear is this whole OSU story starting to crumble. 


Motivations for a cover-up?

Apparently, the media still doesn't get it.

Serial criminals get away with crimes for years because they are excellent at hiding what they do.  Many say that that serial criminals "hide in plain sight."   It's not that people know about them and don't report them.

Interestingly, the media doesn't have the "everyone had to know" issue with serial killers.

The media never alleged that John Wayne Gacy's or Ted Bundy's or Jeffery Dahmer's neighbors had to know what they were doing.  It seems the "had to know" mantra is reserved for serial sexual molesters.

However, the question remains:  why would OSU wrestling coaches and the administration cover for Strauss?

In the Jerry Sandusky and Larry Nassar cases, there were somewhat plausible reasons concocted for an institutional cover-up.

Jerry Sandusky was a nationally known former defensive coordinator who earned notoriety for coaching linebackers.  For that, he earned the nickname, "the Dean of Linebacker U." Sandusky retired from PSU in 1999 and went on to work full time at his charity, The Second Mile.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General alleged that PSU officials didn't report the retired Sandusky in 2001 for fear of hurting the University's reputation.   The NCAA piled on, alleging that PSU didn't report Sandusky in 2001 for fear it might hurt recruiting.

Those might have been plausible if not for the fact that three years earlier, in 1998, when Sandusky was a full-time assistant coach,  PSU did nothing to prevent or influence a police and child protective services investigation.   They let the investigation run its course.  A local DA, with no affinity for PSU, determined there was no basis for charges.  Child protective services determined Sandusky was not a threat or danger to children.

Larry Nassar was a rather famous gymnastics trainer who also was associated with the United States Olympic Team.  MSU touted Nassar's skills when it recruited athletes.  The media attempted to use those facts to allege a cover up by the East Lansing school.

The fact was, Nassar, like Sandusky, fooled everyone around them.  That included the police (twice) and an internal MSU investigation.    No one covered up for Nassar or Sandusky, they simply had no idea that what appeared to be medical treatment or horsing around were actually criminal acts.

The media has yet to come up with a reason or motivation for the cover-up.

In fact, the media has reported very little at all about the life and accomplishments of the alleged perpetrator, Strauss.

Who was Richard H. Strauss?

Dr. Strauss was well regarded in the sports medicine community.

The Physician and Sports Medicine, a journal that he served as editor-in-chief of for 13 years announced his death in 2005, referring to him as an "Icon."



































Strauss's obituary similarly mentioned his role as editor of the journal:

"After graduating from medical school, Strauss served as a Navy diving medical officer on a nuclear submarine, completed postgraduate work in pulmonary physiology and became a member of a hyperbaric research team at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In 1975, he completed his residency in internal medicine at Rutgers University. During his career, he also was a team physician at Harvard University, an editor-in-chief of The Physician and Sports Medicine and a faculty member at Ohio State University, where he served as team physician both for OSU and for the U.S. wrestling team. He also was a member of the medical commission of the International Olympic Committee."

Strauss teamed with two other OSU doctors (Lanese and Malarkey), who were also editors-in-chief of The Physician and Sports Medicine to author a 1993 research paper titled "Decreased Testosterone and Libido With Severe Weight Loss."  The paper was the result of a two year study of collegiate wrestlers and their ability to maintain normal testosterone levels/endocrine function while "cutting weight."   From the abstract:

"A college wrestler's weight, body brief fat, and hormone levels were measured during 2 years of competition. Marked weight loss during the initial season was associated with lower serum levels of testosterone and several other hormones, as well as a decrease in reported sexual activity. All values returned to normal after the season. The following year, with less weight loss, the wrestler had only a transient decrease in testosterone and prolactin and reported no decline in sexual activity. Body fat greater than 5% seemed essential to maintaining normal endocrine function."

Strauss, Lanese, and Malarkey authored a similar paper in 1985 based on a study of amateur wrestlers.  It's summary stated:

"Levels of nine serum hormones, six skin-fold sites, and body weight were measured in 19 male amateur wrestlers during their competitive season and again two months after the season. Percent of body fat was estimated from skin-fold thicknesses. Body weight, body fat, testosterone level, and prolactin level were significantly lower during the wrestling season. Low serum testosterone levels were significantly correlated with low body fat, large loss of body fat, and large weight loss. These findings suggest that the dietary restriction practiced by some wrestlers may affect serum testosterone levels adversely."

Based on the above, it appears that Strauss conducted legitimate research on wrestlers related to testosterone levels and to make a diagnosis of low testosterone a blood test, combined with examination of the size of the male genitalia, the amount of body hair, and other questions related to sexual activity was conducted.

DiSabato wrestled at OSU from 1987 to 1991.

That time frame fits the window for numerous studies of the health of wrestlers and other athletes that were conducted by Strauss and Lanese.

Among the allegations made by wrestlers was that:

"....Strauss fondled them during medical exams and ogled naked young men, sometimes showering among athletes multiple times a day for no apparent reason or perching himself on a stool to stare."

Strauss's behavior, in most respects, appears consistent with the research he and Lanese were conducting at the time.


The "had to know/blind eye" political hit-job 

There is no evidence of a report against Strauss and no alleged motive for covering up his abuse, but the media can't help itself from the narrative it's fallen in love with....

...Congressmen Jim Jordan "had to know" and "turned a blind eye" to abuse.

Just like the media was in love with the narrative that Joe Paterno "had to know" and "turned a blind eye" to abuse.

Many opined the Paterno "knew everything that went on in the Penn State football program."  He was the head football coach after all, they reasoned.

As the facts through the years have revealed,  the Sandusky scandal was a political hit job and the media fell for the outrageous allegation that Paterno was told of  a child being anally raped in the locker room.

That allegation was completely dismantled in December 2011 and further shattered at the Sandusky trial in June 2012.

But they didn't learn their lesson in 2011 and 2012.

Once again, they sucked up a patently false CNN report (in 2017) of a child being told by his foster parents to directly call Joe Paterno -- not the police -- about being raped by Sandusky.  Neither the child or his foster parents called the police to report the rape after he was allegedly rebuffed by Paterno.

What does that say for the media's ability to reason and use common sense?

Even though Jordan was only an assistant wrestling coach, he has name recognition and so he's the one on the hot seat.  Apparently,  Jordan, like the media version of Paterno, was the go to person at OSU to report abuse allegations.

Jordan is also being blamed for not stopping the similarly outrageous (alleged) conduct of OSU faculty members who went to Larkin Hall to masturbate or have overt sex while ogling the wrestlers while in the showers.

Again, why didn't one of the wrestlers report this lewd conduct to the police?  Or say anything about it until now?

The allegations in the OSU case have gone from being akin to UVa hoax to being akin to the McMartin Pre-School case.

What are the chances the media will connect those dots?
Slim to none.

Interestingly, NBC executives didn't face the "had to know" allegations when Matt Lauer was fired for his serial sexual harassment of women there. 

NBC denied allegations from former Today Show host, Ann Curry , who "warned managers about Lauer" in 2012.  Curry also alleged a "pervasive verbal sexual harassment" at the network.

And, it comes as no surprise that NBC's internal investigation found no direct evidence of executives being told about Lauer's misconduct.

No one at NBC turned a blind eye.
No NBC executive lost their job.
There was no sweeping allegations of a "culture" issue affecting NBC.

The investigation at OSU

OSU also hasn't rushed to judgment to condemn the athletics department.  Nor has it made commitments to compensate the accusers or offer them counseling.

So far, so good.

And unlike the sham investigations at PSU, the University of North Carolina and Baylor, it doesn't appear there is a pre-determined outcome.   Moreover, OSU asked law enforcement to assist in the investigation and the Attorney General has offered the assistance of its Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

When the Charlottesville police became involved in the investigation of "Jackie's" allegations, it could find no evidence to support them.

Based on what has become public so far, this looks like UVa on steroids.

20 comments:

  1. There were complaints at the time that the doctor made wrestlers "uncomfortable." USA Today reported that the head wrestling coach, Russ Hellickson, admitted he got complaints and "confronted" Doctor Strauss.

    "In a phone interview with USA TODAY Monday, Hellickson said he told Strauss that some of the athletes were 'uncomfortable' with him showering with them and that the doctor responded that Hellickson also showered with the athletes. I said, 'Not for an hour, Doc,' Hellickson said. ... I said 'When you’re doing weigh-ins, you’re too hands on, Doc,'”

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/07/10/trump-conservatives-sticking-jordan-over-abuse-allegations-but-others/769402002/

    It might not have been considered sexual abuse in that day but the doctor's inappropriate behavior/inappropriate touching was definitely known by the head wrestling coach at the time. He apparently never did anything more than tell the doctor to tone it down. The coach should have reported it to his Athletic Director, the way Paterno did.

    A major factor not present in the PSU and MSU cases is that it involves a powerful Congressman. That makes it not just sports news and crime news but also political news.

    If Ohio State stands firm, I don't think they have any legal liability because it was too far in the past and the alleged perpetrator is dead.

    Congressman Jordan is certainly unlucky in his aspirations to become Speaker of the House because a former GOP Speaker, Denny Hastert, admitted to sexual abuse of male minors.

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    Replies
    1. Tim,
      Thanks for your comments.

      I was aware of Hellickson's comments. However, the fact remains that there are no records anywhere of a formal complaint against Strauss.

      Hellickson said he also raised the issue about the showers in Larkin Hall to the administration, but so far there is no formal record of that.

      Jim Jordan is unlucky because we live in a society where almost every allegation is believed by the media (except in the cases of people that they favor) and the subject of the allegations is considered guilty immediately.

      Jordan is also unlucky that very few of his colleagues have a spine.

      Delete
    2. I think in some ways the OSU case is far worse that either PSU or MSU because the doctor had zero excuse for showering with his patients, the wrestlers. At least Sandusky had a plausible excuse for showering with a boy after they worked out together as part of Second Mile's Friend Fitness program.

      The Ohio State doctor was not at wrestling practice to work out so he shouldn't have needed a shower. He was there as part of his profession to treat injuries and monitor the health of the wrestlers. It was extremely unprofessional and poor judgement for a doctor to shower with his patients. Even if he needed a shower, he could have waited until the wrestlers had finished or gone to one of the dozens of other shower rooms on the OSU campus.

      When the OSU head wrestling coach got a complaint, he should have simply insisted the doctor not shower with the wrestlers ever again.

      The coach said he raised the issue about the showers with the administration, but that complaint was apparently not about the doctor but about the lack of a separate shower area for the wrestling coaches.

      Actually, Jordan's fellow coaches are all sticking up for him, and themselves. The complaints are all coming from the alleged victims.

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  2. I don't see how claims that Dr. Strauss "ogled naked young men, sometimes showering among athletes multiple times a day for no apparent reason or perching himself on a stool to stare" is at all "consistent with the research he and Lanese were conducting at the time."

    The research would have involved body measurements, blood tests and interviews about their sexual activity during and after the wrestling season. None of those would have required ogling them in the showers.

    Another thing that needs clarification is Dr. Strauss's manner of death. The 2005 article you included states that he "died peacefully at his home." That is extremely misleading if he did indeed commit suicide as is being reported elsewhere.

    People will tend to assume that his alleged sexual abuse of male athletes was somehow connected to his alleged suicide. That is obviously not necessarily a valid assumption.

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  3. Tim,
    Thanks again for your comment.

    I note that your comment omitted "examination of body hair" as one of the ways to check for testosterone levels.

    As I wrote, Strauss and Lanese were conducting various research at the time (click on the links). While some of the research involved testosterone, other research included rashes developed by wrestlers from wearing various types of wrestling gear. In conducting that research, Strauss and Lanese could have called in wrestlers at various times to check on rashes. Alternatively, could have simply observed wrestlers while they showered.

    My point is that there are very plausible explanations for Strauss to observe wrestlers while they showered that don't involve sexual deviancy.

    I'll also add that the wrestler who said Strauss ogled "for no apparent reason" probably had no idea about the research he was conducting. Unless I missed a news report, it seems that media also had no idea about this research.

    Finally, while it is being widely reported that Strauss committed suicide, I have yet to find any confirmation of it (outside of media reports, that I don't trust)

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  4. Ray - It's just ludicrous to contend that the naked doctor was in the shower room to examine the wrestlers' body hair and rashes for a research study. That is not how that type of research would be conducted.

    For a legitimate research study, the wrestlers would have agreed to be research subjects in advance. Then they would have visited the fully-clothed doctor individually to be examined. It would have at least been unethical, possibly illegal, for the doctor to use the wrestlers as research subjects without their knowledge or permission.

    I agree that reporters should have verified the suicide by checking with the police, family or viewing the death certificate. If it was suicide, I wouldn't be surprised that the journal he edited would want to spare the family embarrassment. That would explain why they may have lied and said he "died peacefully in his home."

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  5. Tim - I certainly agree that typically research would be conducted as you have described, with the subjects agreeing in advance and seeing the doctor in his office.

    That said, it cannot be ruled out that some of Strauss's research subjects (i.e., young athletes) were not willing to be examined routinely in his office and Strauss went a different route to conduct it.

    It would be interesting to speak with some of his colleagues about this. As you quoted earlier, Strauss was known to be "too hands on." It could be that Strauss was simply obsessed with his research.

    I'll see what it costs to get the death certificate. While it is probably the case that one of the newspapers got the certificate and others are simply repeating what the first wrote, I would like more proof.

    Recall that after the Patriot News falsely wrote that Jake Corman didn't join the TSM board until 2010, every column from other media that followed repeated the inaccuracy.

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  6. If Strauss didn't have permission from the wrestlers to be his research subjects than he was acting unethically and likely illegally. That would probably be even worse than just hanging around the showers to get a thrill.

    Some of the wrestlers defending Jim Jordan just seem to be making it look worse. A former wrestler, Nick Nutter, is now claiming no wrestler would have told Jordan about the doctor because Jordan was "intimidatingly a goody two-shoes."

    http://thehill.com/homenews/house/396605-former-osu-wrestler-defends-jordan-against-allegations

    Yet, Nutter confirmed he was "fondled" by the doctor and that all the wrestlers knew about the doctor, often talked about his "creepy" and "inappropriate" behavior and called him “Dr. Jelly Paws.”

    Nutter said when he got poison ivy, the doctor invited him to his home, "where the doctor ended up fondling him while he laid naked on the bed."

    To believe Jordan you have to believe he never saw the naked doctor hanging around the team shower for an hour at a time, never saw him being too hands-on during weigh ins and never overheard any of the wrestlers talking about his inappropriate behavior.

    It will be interesting to see the report from the law firm OSU hired to investigate.

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  7. Interesting discussion. This soap opera did not get any play in West Coast papers, so I guess it's just an Ohio thing.

    You still seem to be convinced that JS abused some of those men, but I am far from reaching that conclusion and have a ton of reasonable doubt. I base my skepticism on several factors: The absence of pornography or drugs/alcohol which is almost the sine quo non of sexual abuse; The total lack of physical evidence; The lack of any evidence that JS exhibited these tendencies at a young age which is almost universal in pedophiles...no...something else is going on here, maybe something we don't understand. As you stated in your article above, when certain things did not happen, you wonder why.

    What the JS case has in common with McMartin, Fells Acres, and Kelly Michaels is the intensive, suggestive, and probably illegal interrogation techniques used by police and grandstanding, unethical prosecutors. While the JS jurors never heard testimony about being turned into mice, they believed other stories that had more holes than a block of Swiss cheese. While the children in the above cases merely had to please their questioners, Frank Fina, et al, gave them millions of reasons to come up with the "right answer".

    No..I don't buy the "pillar of the community". model for JS. Too simplistic and does not fit the data. JS didn't fool anybody nor did he try. What you saw was what he was. He was brilliant in some areas, and totally immature in others. He was never observed by anyone acting inappropriately with a child. The only thing that makes logical sense is that he thought he was a 16 year old boy and the kids were his buddies. That also explains the behavior of everyone else.

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    1. Gregory,
      Thanks for your comments.

      Unfortunately, most of the things giving you "reasonable doubt" are untrue or easily debunked.

      First, that there was no physical evidence in the case is false. In 2009, Sandusky was informed by DPW that he could no longer have contact with Aaron Fisher. Sandusky continued to contact Fisher via telephone many times. Phone records are physical evidence.

      Sandusky also supplied the victims with gifts as part of the grooming and compliance process. Pictures of the gifts were introduced as evidence at the trial.

      Next, while plying victims with drugs and alcohol is common in many molestation cases, it is not universal by any means. For example, Boy Scout leader Timothy Bagshaw, a serial predator from State College, did not ply with drugs or alcohol as he molested them on camping trips. Sandusky, as you know, was a tea-totaler. Therefore not plying with alcohol (or drugs) would be expected. As such, NONE of the (real) victims accused Sandusky of plying with drugs and alcohol. The phony 1971 victim (friend of Bernie McCue), Spinelli who accused Sandusky of giving his whisky at a sports camp, and one of other civil litigant made an accusation involving alcohol.

      Next, the absence of pornography of Sandusky's computer is easily explained by the fact that Sandusky didn't use computers. In Dottie's interview with John Zeigler, she stated that Jerry didn't learn to use email until he was under house arrest. Moreover, Jerry's retirement papers were produced on a traditional typewriter (according to document forensics experts). Jerry, in 1999 did not request that his PSU office be equipped with a computer...and not a single email from Jerry has been recovered from PSU's system.

      So, no reason to find porn on a computer of a man who didn't use computers. Moreover, if Sandusky did use hard copy pornography, he had two years to get rid of it. Sandusky knew he was under investigation in 2009 and the police didn't get a warrant to search his house until June 2011. Under those circumstances, making an argument that the cops didn't find porn is specious at best. I'll also add the there was no search warrant to look into Sandusky's internet service provider (interestingly, the OAG used that power to track down people who chatted about the case -- or criticized Tom Corbett)

      It is also quite obvious from the evidence that Sandusky used physical activity, like wrestling, to introduce his victims to touching.


      Contrary to what you believe, there is evidence of Sandusky molesting individuals during his time in Washington PA at the Browson House. In fact, a person from the Washington PA area said that Brownson House was known as the "cornhole capital of Washington County." "Cornhole" is slang for anal sex. And, if you were not aware of this, the Brownson House was quite well known for its youth wrestling program. Jerry's father, Arthur, was inducted into the Washington County Sports Hall of Fame for his contributions to youth wrestling. Interestingly, Jerry (in Most Hated Man in America) did not mention wrestling as one of the activities at Brownson House. Did that just slip his mind?

      The Sandusky case is unlike McMartin because the prosecutors, in most of the cases, were dealing with adult men (not children) who weren't trying to please them by giving the correct answer. In most cases, the victims were very uncooperative. The exception in the case was Victim 4, who actually sent a proffer to the OAG. For the most part, the rest of the Victims stuck to the substance of their original testimony to the grand jury.

      It is a fact that Jerry acted like a big kid. So did Timothy Bagshaw. How do you think they got so many kids to warm to them?

      In closing, the common threads among those who believe Jerry Sandusky is innocent is unfamiliarity with behaviors of child molesters and their victims and applying stereotypes that aren't applicable to the case.

      Delete
    2. Ray BleharJuly 12, 2018 at 10:19 AM
      You can read more about the Bagshaw case here:

      http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/jerry-sandusky-penn-state-sex-abuse-case-eerily-similar-timothy-bagshaw-boy-scout-case-decades-prior-article-1.978901#

      You will see similar patterns to Sandusky.

      I also have first-hand knowledge of this case from being a contemporary of Bagshaw. We were camp counselors and went to Philmont Scout Camp among a contingent of 45 people from Central PA. Bagshaw was the group leader for the kids from the State College/Centre County area. I was with a group from Juniata County, but not its leader.

      On the train ride to New Mexico, Bagshaw sat at the window and pretended to be shooting prairie dogs. That caused a five year old boy sitting near him to be amused. With the permission of the mother, the boy ended up on his lap. Once there, Bagshaw put his neckerchief around the boys neck.

      Acting like a big kid is a red flag.

      Once we got to New Mexico, Bagshaw dressed in short shorts and wore rainbow suspenders (recall Robin Williams in Mork and Mindy). Four other boys dressed in a similar manner. I didn't recognize it for what it was at the time -- no one did.

      That's how Pillar of the Community offenders operate

      Delete
    3. Have any researchers computed numerical correlations between "acting like a big kid" and being a convicted child sex offender?

      I would think that child sex offenders who act like mature adults could also successfully groom victims with attention, praise and gifts.

      Did Denny Hastert act like a big kid when he was a high school wrestling coach sexually abusing his students?

      Delete
    4. I don't know about Hastert, however, you are correct that mature adults often befriend young boys/teenagers and groom them with gifts and giving them attention. Quite often, the molester will allow the boys to do things their parents forbid, such as drinking alcohol, looking at pornography, and acting more like a contemporary than an adult while in their company.

      Delete
  8. Amazing! Tim Bagshaw and his brother were on camp staff at 7 Mts. in 1969. I was Nature director. Tim was weird and and was relentlessly teased by other staff. I thought that it was the end of the road for those 2. When I returned in 1970, there was no mention of the Bagshaws. When I hosted a number of Monaken at the national OA conference at the University of Illinois, there were no Bagshaws nor any talk of them.

    I met Ray McCombie at an OA function when I was completing Brotherhood. Although I spent most of my scouting years at Hidden Valley, I had a lot of sweat and blood invested in 7 Mts. because of all the Alpha Phi Omega work projects we had out there. Love that place!!!

    Incidentally..Jerry Sandusky did his student teaching at my High School (Cedar Cliff). I never heard any strange stories from my friends who had him. I still remain skeptical.

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    Replies
    1. Bobby Bagshaw was somewhat of a prankster. We gave him the monaker "The Bagger" Tim was a total nerd! Everyone knew he was gay, which is why he was mocked by other kids on staff. A slimeball. Nothing remotely similar to JS.

      A couple years after moving to California, I got a note from one of my friends who was finishing his PhD in environmental studies at PSU. It said, in part, that Smoky had died and Mort took his job, and that Bagger's brother did some bad things with a couple 13 year old scouts. Nobody seemed surprised.

      Delete
    2. Gregory,
      We probably crossed paths at 7 Mts. I was first there in 1973 and Tim Bagshaw was a prominent member of the Staff. I was inducted in the OA in 1976 and Bagshaw was prominent in that organization too. I recall that he organized a camping weekend for just older OA members circa 1977 and a sweat lodge was built next to the lake for it.

      I recall Tim Bagshaw at one of our OA training events in 1978/1979. He was there acting like a big goofball.

      So....moving right along. When Bagshaw was arrested in the early 1980s he was a cop in Huntingdon, PA. An acquaintance of mine recalled that he was working in the Children and Youth Services office there and that when they found out you could have knocked everyone over with a feather.

      I remember Smokey well and I helped Mort remodel the Ranger cabin there when he moved in. Mort also had some "issues."

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  9. Ray,
    Like you I am retired fed LE. I once sat in on a local case where a 16 year old boy was molesting his two year old sister. At interview the 16 yr old apparently thought nothing of it. After wanting to pulverize this kid I thought either he is a true sociopath or this is learned behavior from the parents. Any evidence of learned behavior in Sandusky’s case.

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    1. Yes..McQueary learned to associate slapping sounds with sex. This is a conditioned response, and nobody ever asked where or how he learned it. A normal jock would associate slapping sounds with towels and wet balls flying in the locker room.

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    2. Steve,
      I believe so, based on the fact that Jerry used wrestling as one of his methods of inappropriately contacting boys. Jerry's father, Arthur, introduced youth wrestling at the Brownson House and likely for the same reason.

      Think about it...Jerry followed in his father's foot steps.

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  10. With more revelations this looks more like another Michigan State or worse. The latest is a written complaint from a student in the 1990s who alleged the doctor first examined his private parts when he asked about a lump on his chest. The student then claimed the doctor pushed against him, and he could feel the doctor's erection. The student claimed the health center merely took the doctor's word that nothing like that happened.

    Reports are that the shower room for the wrestlers was a hang out for male voyeurs who sometimes openly masturbated. The head coach admitted he knew and complained to administrators but nothing was done for years. It seemed like it would have been simple to close the shower room to the public when the sports teams had practice.

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