Tuesday, May 8

Shapiro's Unequal Justice

AG Josh Shapiro's comments and tweets after the convictions of two Johnstown priests confirm there is unequal justice in Pennsylvania

By
Ray Blehar
May 8, 2018, 9:05 AM EDT

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro's hypocrisy was exposed in the aftermath of child endangerment convictions of two Johnstown priests who supervised the late Brother Robert Baker. Baker committed suicide in 2013 amid allegations he sexually abused scores of children.

Shapiro commented:

“These defendants knew the abuser was a serious threat to children — but they allowed him to engage with children and have access to them as part of his job within their order.  They chose time and time again to prioritize their institution’s reputation over the safety of victims.”
He also added that Pennsylvania law allows for the prosecution of “people in Pennsylvania, not just those who directly abuse children but those who enable it and cover it up.”
Shapiro's words ring hollow as his office has never brought endangerment charges against any of the individuals at The Second Mile who decided in 2009 that Jerry Sandusky would be allowed to continue as the public face and head fundraiser of the charity.
At the time of the decision, the charity's board was informed that Sandusky was under investigation for child sexual abuse and had lost his clearance to work with children.  


Without Fear and Without Favor?


Shapiro contends that his office will enforce the law without fear and without favor, however, the fact of the matter is that ample evidence exists on the public record that Sandusky was continuing to access and abuse children after the charity's 2009 decision.

That evidence is also damning for the Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (formerly the Department of Public Welfare) and then AG Tom Corbett's AG office -- who did nothing to protect children from Sandusky from January 2009 until November 2011.

However, it goes deeper than that.

Shapiro and other Pennsylvania government officials have been putting the Commonwealth's children in harm's way for years and a real investigation of The Second Mile would have exposed how the "system" approved funding for high risk programs that involved unsupervised one-on-one contact between adults and children.

That officials at The Second Mile were never charged wasn't a matter of luck - it was a matter of self-preservation.



Next:  The "Luck" of The Second Mile Board