Why wasn’t Sandusky investigated years ago?
>>> as authorities continue to dig into the penn state sex abuse scandal, the public is asking why weren't these allegations investigated when they first were reported? a sentiment shared by pennsylvania's governor, tom corbett , who was the state attorney general when the investigation finally began.
>> i think one of the lessons that we need to learn from this is that when people see something like this or hear about something like this, you need to investigate right away. you need to report. we have lost the focus of what's in the best interest of the child when you see something like this.
>> word out of the big 10 that the conference's football championship trophy will no longer bear the name of legendary coach joe paterno . it will instead take the name of one of the founders of the big 10 back in 1892 . former pennsylvania governor ed rendell is, of course, also an nbc political analyst and joins me now. governor rendell, this is a tragedy for everyone concerned, and you know pennsylvania state college so well, the culture of it all. people wonder, why did it take so long? back in 1998 , first the investigation of the mother of one of the victims, it was overheard by state police or by local police . why couldn't that have been followed up and why couldn't victims have been protected sooner?
>> you're absolutely right, andrea . everybody is focusing on 2002 because that was the first thing that involved coach joe paterno . but in 1998 , the allegation by the mother was brought to the center county district attorney, a man by the name of edward drecar. he declined to prosecute the case, he didn't think there was enough evidence. again, it's always easy to second-guess, and if i'm district attorney, and as you know, i was for eight years in philadelph philadelphia, i would bring that case for no other reason that it brings to light a predator out there by the name of sandusky , and even if you lose the case, there is benefit to bringing it to light. nobody knows except the victim and the police who interviewed the kid how agreeable the child would have been. as you know, drecar has disappeared and is now presumed dead about three or four years ago. i don't know whether that's a connection. you have to be a real conspiracy theerist.
>> do you think that should be investigated? you were in charge of homicide when i first got to know you, and then, of course, the district attorney and the mayor and then the governor. do you think there should be somebody looking into that 2005 disappearance of the district attorney who first chose not to follow up on this case?
>> well, sure. i mean, i think that's worth looking at. there are a lot of things worth looking at in this -- as it plays out, andrea . so you have the 1998 failure to act. but then you get into what is clearly -- and penn state obviously knew about that -- the football program, at least somebody knew about that. but then it goes on to 2002 when we had that absolutely horrible incident of a young child being anally subjected to sex by sandusky in the shower which the grand ju assistant coach sees and he does nothing about it. try to stop it, pull the guy off, hit him over the head with a -- towel rack.
>> what i can't understand, governor, how is it possible after that, after 2002 and going forward, after sandusky was retired or whatever it was that happened to him and he's still getting his pension, all of this is pretty inexplicable. how could someone, even if there weren't a legal case , how could somebody not say, take the keys away and protect the children? why did it take so long for the former attorney general corbett to take some action against those who were still at large?
>> in fairness to governor corbett, then attorney general corbett, his office didn't find out about it until early 2008 . because nobody reported it, and that's really the flaw of the penn state family. everybody in charge, everybody did the minimum they're required to do.
>> and he was in the locker room a week before he was arrested. if they wanted to have a grand jury impanelled, they could say, look, we don't have charges yet, but you better do something about protecting young children.
>> they didn't need the grand jury or the panel to tell them that, they were all aware there was something bad that happened in the shower, number one. how he could still be around kids, nobody two, but more importantly, how someone in that whole hierarchy didn't think this was worth bringing to the police attention is beyond me. they weren't doing sandusky any favors. interestingly, andrea , if he had been arrested back then and put in jail, he probably would be out of jail by now. now because of the number of cases that have happened since, not only were those kids brutalized who didn't have to be brutalized if this was reported, sandusky is going to be in jail for the rest of his life, probably. it makes no sense and it is a black mark on president spanier, coach paterno, all these people who many have done great things for the university and great things for the state of pennsylvania . it's a tragedy at so many levels. but first and foremost, it's a tragedy because a lot of kids were subjected to this type of abuse and it could have been prevented. and that makes it almost unconscionable.
>> ed rendell , thank you very
