The Penn State Sexual Predator Before Jerry Sandusky

[Dan T.]

This piece by ESPN is shocking, harrowing, infuriating, and riveting.  It is VERY long, but well worth the read.

 

By Tom Junod and Paula Lavigne, it recounts a crime spree by a Penn State football player that included robbery, serial predatory rapes, and - ultimately - murder... crimes committed on the Penn State campus and in his home town on Long Island in New York. More than 30 years before the depravity of Jerry Sandusky become public, this crime spree occurred.  And it shows that Joe Paterno - apparently - didn't learn any lessons from it.

 

Before Jerry Sandusky, Penn State football had another serial sexual predator. This is the untold story of his crimes and the fight to bring him to justice. (espn.com)

 

 

 

FORTY-THREE YEARS AGO, Penn State University played for its first national championship in a football season that began against Temple on Sept. 1, 1978, and ended against second-ranked Alabama, on Jan. 1, 1979. It was the season in which Penn State football became Penn State Football, a season that saw head coach Joe Paterno become an American icon. It was also a season that saw a serial sexual predator attack multiple Penn State students.

 

If you are any kind of sports fan, you probably know the first story, all the way through its shocking denouement 10 years ago—the story of the football coach whose black shoes and white socks were seen as his moral underpinnings until they weren't ... until his career ended when the sexual abuse committed by an assistant coach named Jerry Sandusky came to light. You almost certainly don't know the second. It is not just a story that hasn't been told; it's a story that doesn't exist, even in obscure corners of the internet. It's the story of a Penn State football player who, as his team ascended to the pinnacle of the sport, was ransacking the lives of women in the dark.

 

His name was Todd Hodne, and he was perhaps the most dangerous predator ever to play college football. "I have been a prosecutor for nearly 30 years," wrote John B. Collins, who prosecuted one of Hodne's crimes, in a letter to a parole board. "I have prosecuted serial killers and capital cases. Todd Hodne, to this day, remains among the three most dangerous, physically imposing and ruthless excuses for a human being I have ever faced in court."

 

 

Before Jerry Sandusky, Penn State football had another serial sexual predator. This is the untold story of his crimes and the fight to bring him to justice. (espn.com)

Edited April 19, 2022 by Dan T.

[Dan T.]

One hero who emerges from this sad story is Irv Pankey, an offensive lineman at Penn State who later went on to a decent 12 NFL career with the Rams and then the Colts. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I read this last week.  It was entirely too long.

 

Checks all the boxes though, intentionally aloof football coach, terrible crimes against co-eds, murder, a hero, etc.  

[LadySkinsFan]

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

I read this last week.  It was entirely too long.

 

Checks all the boxes though, intentionally aloof football coach, terrible crimes against co-eds, murder, a hero, etc.  

 

It's long, it needed to be. Rape culture is deeply ingrained in our society and needs to be cut. That only happens when rapists are held accountable and heavily punished with prison.

[Spaceman Spiff]

5 minutes ago, LadySkinsFan said:

 

It's long, it needed to be. Rape culture is deeply ingrained in our society and needs to be cut. That only happens when rapists are held accountable and heavily punished with prison.

I don’t disagree with your stance that rapists need to be held accountable and heavily punished. 
 

But the article was too damn long.  When you have to keep backtracking to keep people in the story straight, that’s just bad writing. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by Spaceman Spiff

[LadySkinsFan]

34 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

I don’t disagree with your stance that rapists need to be held accountable and heavily punished. 
 

But the article was too damn long.  When you have to keep backtracking to keep people in the story straight, that’s just bad writing. 

 

Apparently the rapist was responsible for attacking many women over the years, killing at least one. So yeah, backtracking because he was proflic. 

 

Edited to add: The rapist was also released on bail and allowed to continue attacking women instead of sitting his ass in jail until his trial. Because he was a football player until he was kicked off the team. Still free to hone his predatory skills. Just like happens even today because he's a guy with a future. I guess women aren't entitled to futures without being attacked.

 

 

Edited April 20, 2022 by LadySkinsFan

[Forehead]

1 hour ago, LadySkinsFan said:

 

Apparently the rapist was responsible for attacking many women over the years, killing at least one. So yeah, backtracking because he was proflic. 

 

You just inadvertently proved Spiff's point, since the one person he did kill was a male taxi driver, not a woman.

 

Anyway, I do disagree with Spiff, I thought it was very well written and told the story well.  I think the person who comes off the worst in this story (besides Hodne himself) is the judge who decided to let him free prior to his sentencing instead of keeping him incarcerated.  That's just awful.  And yeah, Irv Pankey came off as a saint.

 

It shows you the difference in media coverage, certainly.  My father went to Penn State after his time in Vietnam using the GI Bill, mid to late 70's.  He was gone and graduated before the Hodne events, though not for very many years, and he had never heard of the guy until I sent him this article.

[China]

5 takeaways from our ‘Missed Conduct’ investigation on Penn State’s post-Sandusky reforms

 

 For the past year, Spotlight PA and the Centre Daily Times investigated Penn State’s once-praised system of compliance offices and reforms implemented in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

 

In “Missed Conduct,” the newsrooms found deep-rooted flaws — distrust is rampant and many fear retaliation if they speak up. For nearly two years, the unit Penn State created to hold itself to the highest ethical standards struggled to handle behavior it was designed to prevent.

 

In a statement in response to the investigation, Penn State said it examines its practices and makes necessary changes.

 

Here are some key findings from the investigation:

• Federal and state inquiries have found failures in the university’s systems for years.
• The university lacks a unified way to track all cases of reported misconduct.
• Penn State’s former chief ethics officer was repeatedly accused of misconduct.
• Surveys noted widespread distrust in Penn State’s misconduct reporting system.
• Possible windows into whether Penn State is living up to its promises are opaque.
   

Click on the link for the full details