I wrote this in response to a conversation on a Penn State Football board - but wanted to lay it all out here for Mr. Ziegler, who has said he has "proof" that V2 was never abused.
You may recall, I wrote an "action" diary imploring Mr. Ziegler not to name this young man
However, the young man who initially spoke in Jerry Sandusky's defense has now told his truth - and has claimed that Jerry Sandusky did, in fact, sexually abuse him. My post follows in its entirety. I will tweet this out for Mr. Ziegler as well.
Truth of the matter is - there could be multiple "Victim 2's"
As evidenced by the 10 victims he was tried for in court, Jerry Sandusky often abused multiple boys at the same time.
Many of the boys are captured in a picture in his autobiography "Touched" - all around the same age - all being abused by Jerry Sandusky. We have only begun to scratch the surface of how many victims there are of this serial predatory pedophile.
As to the young man John Ziegler named as Victim 2 - if you read the interview John has on his website you will note that the questions this young man was asked centered around the 2002 date - NOT the corrected 2001 date.
From Ziegler's link
"I asked [redacted] about a specific time period in 2002 when he would work out with Jerry. [Redacted] stated it would have been the night that was described as alleged Victim Number Two (2) in the grand jury report. "The day was March 1, 2002, I am very positive." To assure [Redacted] was correct, I asked him to read alleged Victim Two (2) findings by the grand jury. [Redacted] again said, "I am alleged Victim Number Two (2)."
and later...
"I asked, "How do you know this was the night McQueary described?" [Redacted] stated, "I heard hte wooden locker close. McQueary said he went to the locker room to obtain items from a locker. I know what the door sounds like when it is closed, as I said before. I never saw McQueary look into the shower that night. I am sure." I asked [Redacted] "Can you be more specific if possible?" [Redacted] said, "That same week Jerry either told me in person or on the phone that the night we were in the showers, Coach McQueary reported that he saw us engaged in sexual acts and reported this to school officials. Jerry told me to expect a call from PSU officials about that night. To be more specific, the last night that Jerry and I showered at the PSU Complex was March 1, 2002, I am certain."
and later....
"At no time that night, March 1, 2002, did Jerry sexually assault me with anal or oral intercourse, nor did I perform such on Jerry.
As an aside - I bolded the sentence above - because as I re-typed it, I recalled that in Jerry Sandusky's interview (also conducted by John Ziegler), Jerry Sandusky says something entirely different...
Jerry: ....I never saw Mike McQueary. I don't know if the young man saw Mike MCQueary.
John: You're sure you never saw Mike McQueary?
Jerry: I am sure. And Tim Curley never told me. I did not know who this person was.
John: So Tim Curley never told you it was Mike McQueary?
Jerry: No. Tim Curley said it was a man or a woman (laughter). That's what he said. He was not about to give me the name of the person who said he saw something inappropriate.
(And as another aside - to the people (Ray Blehar) arguing that there is some significant difference between a 10 year old and a 12, 13, or 14 year old boy as if SIZE makes a difference - This is Jerry in his own words...)
Jerry: I think he was around 13 almost 14.
John: So the ten-year-old boy thing is incorrect? So he was 13 or 14.
Jerry: Yeah.
John: How tall was he at the time?
Jerry: He wasn't a real tall kid. I don't know. Mike McQueary said he came up to here (touching chest) or something on me. I really don't know. I have pictures of him, but I'm not sure. He was short, he was not an early maturer or anything like
that. He was short, but he was very competitive. Feisty.
I believe that this young marine is in fact a victim of Jerry Sandusky. In fact, he now, has disclosed that he was in fact abused by Jerry Sandusky. And no, it does not surprise me that he would originally defend his abuser. You have to remember, for many of these young men, Jerry Sandusky fulfilled the role of "father" in their lives. Also, Sandusky would use"gifts" and "access" to keep their silence - to buy off his victims. It was a quid pro quo scenario - you give me this, I give you that. The confusion of being sexually molested by someone who is supposed to love and protect you is devastating. You hate what is happening to you, but don't know how to stop it.
As I wrote regarding Victim 4's testimony in court:
The witness said the offer in 1999 was called the "Program" and was ostensibly made to ensure that the boy would continue with his studies and athletics. It promised $1,000 for every year of education the boy pursued after high school, plus additional money for seeing Sandusky, going to hockey practice, and working out 3 times a week, he testified.
But Victim 4 said the proposed deal came as he tired of years of sexual abuse, as often as three times a week for three years. When asked by Sandusky's lawyer Joseph Amendola whether the offer was made in good faith, the witness rejected that suggestion.
"No, no. You're not understanding. This is when I'm trying to get away from him. I signed it to shut him up. And that's not the only thing it's offering me money for... It's not that simple, not in my mind, sorry," he said.
"He expressed repeated regret at not running from Sandusky, but noted it was because of fear, confusion and an acute understanding that he'd be mocked at school.
"It's not that simple, you just [can't] say, 'OK, I'm done.'" There was also the odd mix of being so excited about getting to be part of the Penn State program ("I was like the mascot") that he could block out the shower sessions.
"I thought, I didn't want to lose this," the witness said. "This is something good happening to me. I didn't have a dad."