(CBS News) Jerry Sandusky’s denials that he sexually abused young boys over the span of years are traumatizing his alleged victims all over again, an attorney representing some of the accusers said.
“They’re really suffering despair, confusion and, really, fury because Sandusky and those around him remain free to speak and deny. And every time they do, speak and deny, they are really putting salt in the wounds, they are really putting a dagger in the heart, they are really wounding the soul even further and, in that way, we are really trying to work with these survivors to help them in their recovery, protect them, and let them know that something can be done and will be done about what has been done,” attorney Jeff Anderson said on “The Early Show” Wednesday.
Anderson, who specializes in child sexual abuse cases, also said that in recent days he has been contacted by a number of alleged victims’ families.
“All of them (are) expressing a desire to make the truth known about what happened to them and their families and, in particular, a desire, a courageous desire to make sure that other kids are not harmed, because in the final analysis, what the victims and the … courageous survivors we work with want, first, is to be believed and, second, to make sure that other kids are not harmed the way they were and are and that is why we are working so hard,” Anderson told “Early Show” co-anchor Erica Hill.
As for Penn State, Anderson said “there is no question” that the institution failed to protect Sandusky’s alleged victims and covered up the scandal.
“What this institution has to do is take immediate action, to speak the truth, take action, to make sure that no further kids are harmed in the future, and to reach out to the survivors and to make sure no further harm is done to them, that their privacy is respected and action is taken by those at the top on down to make sure that they do not allow other kids to be hurt the way so many kids have been by Sandusky and by the institutional cover-up.”
Sandusky has been charged with assaulting eight boys, some in a university locker room. The scandal has cost coach Joe Paterno and the Penn State president Graham Spanier their jobs.
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