Journalist finds Penn State scandal 'eerily 'similar to child abuse networks in other states

Journalist Nick Bryant profiles child abuse scandals after years of research, and finds that the Penn State scandal is “eerily” similar to child abuse networks in Nebraska and Florida.

urbanchristiannews.com

(WALTERVILLE, Ore.) - Nick Bryant, author of two books on the precarious status of America’s children, and an expert on child trafficking and sexual abuse, says the Penn State-Sandusky case bears the following parallels to other child abuse networks that are documented in his book THE FRANKLIN SCANDAL:

1. The profile of the victimized children are lower socio economic kids abandoned or assigned to an umbrella organization for services
2. The person organizing the abuse has a strong personality, high standing in the community, and tends to believe he/she is above the law
3. The network tends to be covered up by communal denial and the cult of personality surrounding the organizer, and also by judicial or law enforcement malfeasance that involves ignoring or not prosecuting the perpetrators crimes
4. A cover-up includes tampering with evidence and victim/witness intimidation
5. Whistleblowers find themselves subjected to threats, discrediting “campaigns,” and even legal prosecution

“I find the current Penn Scandal to be truly disheartening, because Penn State, law enforcement, and social services personnel were aware of Sandusky’s alleged abuse of children in 1998 and also in 2002, but they seemed to turn a blind eye,” Bryant said. “Not only did officials in Pennsylvania turn a blind eye to child abuse, but Penn State and many of its affiliates continued to pour money into Sandusky’s children’s charity, Second Mile, until 2010.”

Bryant took seven years to research and write one of the few commercially published books on child abuse networks and trafficking, The Franklin Scandal, which documents how socially influential organizations for disadvantaged children were plundered by child traffickers.

Bryant’s writing on the plight of disadvantaged children in the United States has been published in numerous national journals, including the Journal of Professional Ethics, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, and Journal of School Health. He is the co-author of America’s Children: Triumph of Tragedy, addressing the medical and developmental problems of lower socioeconomic children in America.

The Franklin Scandal is published by TrineDay. For interviews contact: Kris Millegan (800) 556.2012  or publisher@trineday.com