• The architect of Joe Paterno’s defense: Jerry Sandusky, center, was once one of the great icons of the Penn State football team, a defensive coordinator who helped define the school’s reputation as a defensive powerhouse before he retired in 1999. Now, his association with the team seems like a giant black mark. Sandusky was arrested Sunday, facing dozens of charges in a sexual abuse case involving eight different boys over 15 years. He wasn’t the only person on the hook: Athletic director Tim Curley and the school’s vice president for finance and business, Gary Schultz, are also expected to be arrested for an alleged cover-up. Paterno himself won’t be charged — when made aware of a case of abuse, he reportedly went to Curley and informed him about it. A tough day for Penn State fans. source

• The first time a Catholic Church official has been charged: In what’s a major development regarding the sexual abuse scandals that have engulfed the Catholic Church since the 1980s, an official — and his diocese — have been charged with a crime. Bishop Robert Finn, above, who leads the Catholic Church diocese in Kansas City and nearby St. Joseph, has been charged with failing to report child abuse (the photography and possession of child pornography, specifically) allegedly committed by one of his priests. The diocese itself was also charged. Finn’s lawyer denies the allegations. Either way, yikes. source

• The lawsuit claims the government really failed the recently-freed sexual abuse victim. Why was it that a man convicted of rape and sentenced to 50 years in jail was out after 11 years? And how did the U.S. government, which was supposed to check on him due to the fact that he was a paroled sex offender, miss a giant fortress where Dugard and her two daughters was held hostage for nearly two decades? Why did they miss obvious tell signs, like neighbors calling the police? And why didn’t parole officers come at all some years? These are all obvious questions, and all reasons why Jaycee Dugard, now 31, is suing the federal government. Philip Garrido and his wife Nancy are already in jail for their crimes against Dugard. Now, Dugard’s going after the government. source

• 2 million number of photos a Bosnian man recently caught in a child porn bust had in his possession, authorities say
• 4,000 number of videos the man had; he was just one of 70,000 members of the recently-broken-up ring source

• » And worse: The unidentified man, referred to as an “important member” of the pedophilia ring, had a suitcase full of children’s clothes. Officials say he was “producing and posting online child sexual abuse materials.” Ugh. Disgusting.

• He informed her that if she wanted to remain employed and be advanced by the company, she would have to engage in sexual acts with him as soon as she turned 18 years old.
• A lawsuit filed against American Apparel CEO Dov Charney • Reciting allegations made by former employee Irene Morales. Morales got hired at a New York branch of the clothing store in 2007, quit in 2009, and then worked at a L.A. store in 2010. She alleges that Charney invited her over to his apartment shortly after her 18th birthday, forced her to perform oral sex on him in the doorway, and then…well, yeah, a bunch of other horrible things. This isn’t the first sexual harassment case Charney, whose full name sounds like a brand of liquor, has faced, but none of the earlier suits have gone to trial. If these allegations are true, this scumbag should be in prison, and the $250 million in damages sought don’t seem too far off track, either. One question: why did Morales start working for the company again in 2010? We are not questioning Morales’ story – coming forward can be tough. We’re just curious. (Editor’s note: Reworded to avoid misinterpretation of what was meant.) source

• Hats off to Scott Brown: Discussing traumatic events from one’s life is never easy, especially to a large, disparate public. Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown is doing just that. An upcoming 60 Minutes interview will touch on his sexual abuse at the hands of a camp counselor when he was ten, as well as physical abuse by multiple stepfathers. Brown, a moderate GOP senator who has earned much respect during his year in office, deserves an immense amount of credit for this, hopefully giving an example to youth in the same position to report abuse. source

• 122 disabled adults, children molested by therapist source

• » The disgustingly evil are unabated: A 54-year-old man, name hitherto unknown, admitted to Swiss authorities that he had sexually abused over 100 people in the course of his career as a therapist to disabled adults and children. The police say they’ve identified 122 of the victims, and that the youngest was 1-year-old at the time of the abuse. Stories like these make everyday life harder and harder to stomach. Anybody know how to build an evil detector?

• 48 priests accused of sexual abuse in the San Diego area

• 144 alleged abuse victims are currently suing the diocese over the allegations
• 10k the number of pages of documents the diocese released under court pressure
• 2k the number of pages lawyers for the accusers say the church is hiding source

• So, Pope Benedict’s got 99 problems, and a cover-up is one. The Pope is in the middle of one massive modern scandal, one which has already tapped his shoulder personally. He should consider his next move carefully, because he’s looking just like Richard Nixon right now. Here’s how (we ganked most of this from an Atlantic article, by the way, but we figure they won’t mind):

First way: What did he know, anyway?

• Nixon While he wasn’t involved with
  the Watergate scandal directly,
  his White House denied the scandal even after finding out, claiming
  they had “no knowledge” of what took place that fateful night.
• Benedict While nobody’s claiming he committed any abuse himself, he reportedly found out about the scandal while a cardinal. The Vatican claims “no knowledge”; sound familiar?

Second way: The cover-up

• It’s not the crime that gets you… it’s the cover up.
• Former President Richard Nixon • Regarding the Watergate scandal, which ultimately was a fairly minor case in the grand scheme of things. If he came clean early and fixed the problem, he would’ve been fine! Similarly, the Pope could’ve saved himself a lot of grief if he had dealt with the incidents on his watch – a Wisconsin sex abuse case and a German priest’s case (which, admittedly, he may not have known about). The lesson here? Deal with things when first happen; they hurt less.

Third way: Shooting the messenger

• Nixon During the scandal, Nixon held a very negative opinion of the press, claiming “the press is the enemy” to his long-suffering aides.
• Pope Over the weekend, the dude said he won’t be “intimidated by petty gossip.” His aides made even more direct attacks on the media.

Fourth way: Thinking you’re infallible

• The Pope is believed to be infallible; Nixon only thought he was. One thing that Pope Benedict has over Richard Nixon is papal infallibility, a concept that many misunderstand. He’s infallible on specific dogmatic matters – matters which probably don’t include sex scandals. Nixon, on the other hand, famously claimed in 1977 that “When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Too bad the Supreme Court disagreed with him. source

• I can’t think of a worse betrayal of public trust. The fact is, he preyed on one of our most vulnerable communities.
• Broward, Fla. Sheriff Al Lamberti • Discussing the charges against top deputy Jonathan Bleiweiss, an award-winning officer who allegedly preyed on illegal immigrants, sexually assaulting them. Bleiweiss, who is openly gay, previously was seen as a model police officer and has been the subject of newspaper articles praising his pioneering status in the community. • source