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The mother of the boy identified as Victim 1 in the Penn State sex abuse scandal said her son broke down in tears when he heard accused child molester Jerry Sandusky claim on television they were just "horsing around." When she asked her son why he cried, "He said, 'Because I'm afraid. I'm afraid he'll go free.
'" The mom said she reassured her son that is not likely to happen. "There's other witnesses, probably more victims out there to come forward yet," she told her son, and she urged others with information to speak up. Her son is one of eight boys who Sandusky, 67, is accused of having molested over a 15-year period. The mom, whose identity is being withheld by ABC News, lashed out at Sandusky and his efforts to portray the allegations of sex abuse as merely jock horse play.
"It sickened me that he would be on TV trying to downplay his charges. And I think it made him look more guilty," the victim's mother said. Sandusky surprised many Monday night when he phoned in to NBC's Bob Costas. During the interview Sandusky denied all of the 40 charges of child sexual assault that have been leveled against him, and said that he is not sexually attracted to young boys Costas.
The mother of Victim 1 said that there is no way what went on between her son and Sandusky was just horseplay. "No, it's not games.
It's a planned out strategy to groom children to molest," she said. "He definitely shouldn't have showered with those kids. It was sickening, I mean I don't know anybody -- anybody -- who when somebody's like 50, would get in a shower naked with a 10-year-old." Her son was 10 or 11 when he first met Sandusky in 2005 or 2006, and the former coach lavished presents on him, including clothing, a computer, cash and trips, the grand jury report claims. It also charges Sandusky with molesting the boy more than 20 times. The mother said she's angry to see Sandusky a free man while she and her son, who is now a teenager, feel they must hide to protect their anonymity. "It's very difficult for me and for my son. We spend most of our lives since this has started hiding, trying to avoid getting chased down by press, his identity being revealed, dealing with the bullies at school," she said. "He has to leave school pretty consistently to take medication because he can't he just can't stay there and listen to it," she said. "It makes me really mad that my son can't go out and have a normal life. He can't go out and hang out at the mall, because he might run into Jerry. [Sandusky] gets to go to the mall and shop and do whatever he wants to do. That aggravates me. He should be in jail," she said. Victim 1 is expected to be a star witness against the former coach. "He's scared, but he's anxious. He's ready, he wants to do it....He wants to put it to rest. He wants him to go to jail and he wants him to pay for what he's done. And he doesn't want him on the streets where he can hurt somebody else," the boy's mother said.
