Top News Stories: #7 Jerry Sandusky trial
Several high-profile cases of child molestation came to light in 2012. In one case, a high-ranking Catholic cleric was given a prison sentence for turning a blind eye to priests' abuse (in a prelude to the trial of the alleged molesters). And the Boy Scouts were ordered to release hundreds of so-called perversion files.
The most notorious event was the trial of Jerry Sandusky on charges that he abused young men and boys while an assistant coach for the Nittany Lions. Also facing judgment was the legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who failed to act on reports of the abuse. The university quietly removed a statue of Paterno from campus and Nike rechristened a childhood development center named after the coach. Penn State's storied football program was stripped of many football victories because of the school's improper handling of reports of Sandusky's abuse. Sandusky, who denied the charges throughout his trial, was sentenced to 442 years in prison.
