There’s a lesson to be learned from the Jerry Sandusky-Penn State child sexual abuse scandal for institutions, including federal law enforcement agencies.
The main lesson is that institutions aren’t more important than people.
We’ve seen this play out so many times before. Institutions protecting their image, avoiding disgrace.
We’ve seen it in the Catholic church with the pedophile scandal. High ranking church officials covering up disgraceful criminal acts of sexual abuse to protect images and people in the institution.
We’ve seen it with the old FBI in Boston that covered up the misdeeds of mobster Whitey Bulger.
When cover ups like that happen, people get killed. Children get molested. Lives are ruined.
What happned at Penn State is unforgivable. Yes, as the Louie Freeh report points out, even good ole coach Joe Paterno was involved in the cover up.
So when scandal surfaces in institutions, including federal law enforcement, it’s best to come clean, lick the wounds and move on.
Cover ups are so much more dangerous to the things that matter most to us: People.
