"Joe Pa" is no saint, he got what he deserved, or did he?

Guest column by Robert W. Wilford 

Probably the majority of Americans agree that the sexual abuse scandal surrounding Penn State University is real and that many innocent children were indeed raped by a monster without Joe Paterno, or anyone else affiliated with this educational institution, having the moral courage to do the right thing.

When Sandusky is found guilty in a Pennsylvania court of law, he will be made to pay for his crimes. Unfortunately, his incarceration will never heal the wounds of the children he sexually abused.

They will undoubtedly be scarred for life and most likely will remember the trauma of this abuse each and every morning of their waking days. I pray that God will grant these precious children and their families healing peace.

Conspiracy theories? There are many. First off, Paterno is a Roman Catholic; I will explain this conspiracy theory later.

Yes, I unashamedly believe Paterno's religious affiliation is undeniably an integral part of the conspiracy theory.

I too am a lifelong Roman Catholic and have sadly come to realize that my church has displayed a total lack of moral courage in addressing clergy sexual abuse issues, not only in the present times, but for many centuries.

Accountability and conscience have been, and are, words without meaning to this powerful religious institution when it comes to dealing with criminal sexual abuse matters confronting it.

Isn't it strange that Paterno failed--lack of accountability and conscience--to report the sexual abuse by Sandusky to the police in 2002 when the Roman Catholic Church all the way to the Vatican was responding to tens of thousands of accusations regarding the cover-up by the church's leaders regarding a great number of its bishops and priests who were pedophiles (pre-puberty victims) or ephebophiles (teenage victims)?

Did "Joe Pa" employ the same "head in the sand" tactic as the hierarchy of his church by not reporting the suspected sexual abuse by Sandusky to the police?

Or worse, did he consult  leaders of the Catholic Church over his decision not to do what was morally and ethically correct? If so, what ill-conceived advice did these "cover-up artists" give him?

Even though Paterno chose not to report Sandusky's despicable behavior back in 2002, he could have, at the very least, not allowed this sexual deviate to be granted campus access for nearly nine more years after he was supposedly observed raping a child in the showers on campus.

What hold did Sandusky have over Paterno and Penn State that would have allowed this sexual pervert open access to the university for nine additional years after being supposedly observed by Mike McQueary raping a young child?

One final conspiracy theory I propose concerns "Joe Pa" being granted the unjust privilege of breaking Eddie Robinson's hallowed Division I record of 408 victories prior to Sandusky being publicly exposed.

It is certainly strange and befuddling to me that the Pennsylvania Attorney General chose not to charge Sandusky until after Paterno achieved win number 409. This Pennsylvania public servant certainly appeared to have sufficient evidence to charge Sandusky well before Paterno achieved this significant milestone.

Is the attorney general's action, or lack thereof, another conspiracy?

What influence did Penn State University officials, the university's many financial benefactors, and/or powerful Pennsylvania politicians and business leaders across the state, have in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's decision in not charging Sandusky prior to Paterno's win number 409?

Was there a deviously covert and unscrupulous attempt by the Pennsylvania Attorney General and/or other co-conspirators to preserve "Joe Pa's" legacy at all costs? It was grossly unfair and an obviously heinous ruse to allow this falsely-proclaimed icon to achieve this tainted accomplishment.

I ponder with tremendous sadness about the victims who were probably sodomized after 2002. Who cared about them and for Sandusky's pre-2002 victims?

Their "409th" victory will simply be living life as best they can in surviving the unspeakable horrors of being abused by Paterno's sexually deviant cohort.

Will we ever be made privy to all of the conspiracies that have transpired regarding Penn State University and this sexual abuse scandal?

Sadly, I doubt it since "lawyerspeak" is already taking hold of the situation.

One indisputable fact remains. The victims of this sexual abuse are real and have been damaged physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually.

I will continue to have tremendous empathy for them in the future and pray for God to grant them courage in facing the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

Did "Joe Pa" get what he deserved? Yes, by being ignominiously fired in disgrace as the coach of Penn State, he got exactly what he deserved.

On the other hand, did "Joe Pa" deserve to be allowed to coach until reaching victory number 409? No, he did not earn, nor deserve, this high honor because he lacked the guts to take the moral high ground in 2002 in exposing Sandusky's unimaginable sex crimes committed against children.

Sandusky, Spanier, Schultz, Curley, Paterno, McQueary, the other co-conspirators...? I will let the legal system and the court of public opinion decide their fate here on earth and let God judge them in the afterlife.