Child Abuse Expert: Sandusky Defense Digging Bigger Hole

By Patrick Perion-

(Editor's Note: Patrick has been a child abuse investigator since 1994 and has interviewed thousands of children about child abuse, child sexual abuse and neglect. He will weigh in with his thoughts as a special 670TheScore.com contributor throughout the Jerry Sandusky Trial. Patrick is otherwise known as "Quad City Pat", a frequent caller to the Boers & Bernstein Show.)

(CBS) Monday saw the prosecution call one last witness, then rest its case.  Time for Joe Amendola to defend the indefensible. I wrote last week that Amendola had a bad day in opening arguments and his cross examination of the first witness.

If anything, Monday might have been worse.

We learned today from the testimony of Richard Anderson and Booker Brooks, both former Penn State coaches, that coaches frequently showered with boys. Per Anderson, he showered with boys as young as 11 "at the YMCA, at Penn State at other places."  Brooks stated that he showered with coaches in high school.

First, what. the. hell?  Who does that? I played high school football and was never ever once in a shower with a coach -- and I went to a Catholic School!

Second, this testimony really worked in the prosecution's favor.  Even if the defense convinces the jury that all this wanton showering is pretty normal, the witnesses clearly delineated that they never engaged in the sexual abuse of those boys, nor did they engage in the wrestling, soaping and grabbing that good 'ol Jerry already admitted to.

The simple question from the prosecution to the jury will be: If all this showering was common, why did the victims identify only one man as the perpetrator?"

The other line of defense today was that Sandusky was just busy, busy, busy all the time with the Penn State program.  Too busy to work out with his young Second Mile charges, too busy to have them over on weekends and rape them, just too damn busy.

Alas for the defense, this theory is so full of holes you could drive a tickle monster through it.  Most of the victims discussed abuse that occurred after Sandusky "retired" from Penn State.

At the risk of sounding insensitive to the other victims, the most egregious rape happened six or seven years ago.  Victim 9 testified about anal rape and bloody underwear.  His mother testified about underwear that was always missing when he came home from Sandusky's rape room. In 2006, he had plenty of time to take his prey under his wing and do with him what he wanted.

Victim 9's rape seems to have been far more frequent and aggressive than some of the other victim's, this suggests that the free time Sandusky had in retirement made it much easier for him to abuse boys.  If he was too busy to do all this while he was coaching, it reinforces the credibility of Victim 9 who was abused well after Sandusky stopped coaching.

One final bit. I wrote last week that serial child abusers like Sandusky are not acting, they just don't get that they did wrong.

As if to prove my point, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports reported today that at the lunch break, Sandusky was pouring over dates of Victim 9's testimony.  He determined that the kid really started having problems at school after Sandusky was no longer 'mentoring' him. Sandusky was even heard saying: "See, that was after he was with me."

Yeah Jerry, we all see it.  Too bad that even when you're locked up for the rest of your life, you'll never see what horror you've wrought.

Patrick is a 1990 graduate of St. Ambrose University in Davenport IA. He's been working in child welfare since 1988. Since 1994, he has been a child abuse investigator and has interviewed thousands of children about child abuse, child sexual abuse and neglect. He was certified in forensic interviewing of child sexual abuse victims in 1999 and received an advanced certification in 2001. He's also been a trainer of forensic interviewing for child welfare professionals and law enforcement officials. On a personal note, he out kicked his coverage in marrying his wife Nicole and he has two wonderful daughters. Follow Patrick on Twitter @QuadCityPat and read his blog. He is not a spokesperson for his employer and his opinions are his own.