Stupidity of Penn State Students!

I find it completely ridiculous that anyone would riot over the termination of Coach Paterno!

Have these idiots considered the children and their families who may have been prevented being abused had the supervisors of Sandusky reported him to legal authorities?

Okay, I realize that accusations of this nature may not be true and it would terrible to ruin a career over accusations, but come on! Apparently one of the coaches who is still employed at Penn State actually saw Sundusky in the shower with 10 year old boy!

Why would he say that if it wasn't true? Even if it wasn't true, why didn't he or one of HIS superiors report this to the police for an investigation?

Because the Penn State wanted to protect their image and income! I'm sure the university has made a truck-load of money over the years from their great football program, but NOW they will pay a truck-load of money over the lawsuits that are likely to come out from the university's negligence in failing to protect these kids.

I wonder if the claims of the children have prescribed? From what I have heard, they occurred over ten years ago and in some states the time period to file a claim is one to three years after the child has reached his/her 18th birthday. So let's say that one of the boys Sundusky allegedly raped was 10 in 1999, then he would turn 18 in 2008. If the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania is three years following his 18th birthday, then a lawsuit would have to be filed this year, 2011.

I looked up the issues specific to Pennsylvania and apparently the statute of limitations for a child under 12 is twelve years after he/she turns 18.*

I don't know if the same time period would be extended for the negligence of Penn State supervisors, such as Paterno. In any case, it's stupid for the students to be outraged over the firing of Paterno when they out to be outraged that Paterno didn't take a more active role in protecting the boys.

Am I missing something? I welcome your comments.

* The Pennsylvania statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children does not start to run until the child reaches age 18 (on the theory that, before then, he/she is not competent to decide whether or not to file a complaint). Then, the statutes of limitation vary, depending upon the severity of the underlying offense. For example, the statute of limitations for "sexual abuse of children" is 12 years. So, charges could theoretically be brought any time before the child turns 30. This appears at 42 Pa.C.S.A. 5552. ("Pennsylvania ConsolidatedStatutes Annotated") However, police will be more interested in recent crimes (or crimes recently discovered by the parents/guardians) so don't put it off too long if you are going to go forward.