Local high school graduate Aaron Fisher, known as "Victim 1" who sparked the investigation into Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of young boys, is very courageous. We are, for the first time in this newspaper, identifying Aaron as a victim of Sandusky's.
We do so because Aaron has gone public with his story, talking to ABC News in a nationally-broadcast "20/20" television news program last night and writing a book about his ordeal.
Aaron's book is entitled, Silent No More: Victim 1's Fight for Justice Against Jerry Sandusky, and was written in association with his mother, Dawn Daniels.
The book (was released) Tuesday, Oct. 23, and is published by Random House.
Aaron, now 18, stood up for himself against a sports giant, knowing well that many people may not believe his horrible experiences with Sandusky.
He said so at Sandusky's trial, testifying that he was "... embarrassed and confused and didn't know what to do. My mom felt I was doing stuff she couldn't do with me, she enjoyed the fact that I had a role model. I couldn't just say no" when it came to Sandusky. "I kind of thought he sees me as family and this is just what his family does," he testified.
He also told the court that, after he broke off contact with Sandusky, the former coach came to his home and yelled at him for not spending more time with him. He told the court that the argument got heated and that he eventually hid behind a bush to avoid Sandusky.
"I got extremely, extremely scared," he testified. "With all the connections he (Sandusky) had, if he really thought I would say what happened that he could hurt me or someone close to me."
While Aaron and his mother said administrators at Central Mountain High School initially did not believe he was being abused by Sandusky, those same administrators, we're sure, documented everything Aaron told them, notified Clinton County Children & Youth Services authorities and then contacted Sandusky and told him he was no longer welcome at any district school or property and could not have any contact with any student.
Children & Youth then reported the allegations to the state Attorney General's Office, triggering what has become a national nightmare for Penn State University, the late Joe Paterno and his family, the university president and many others.
"Saying sexual abuse has happened was hard," Fisher told ABC News. "But I wanted to help people see that it is better to come forward and tell somebody than to be silent."
Fisher said he was abused by Sandusky from ages 12 to 15, and that it was three years before he found the courage to tell his mother and administrators at Central Mountain.
But by speaking out, Aaron drove the investigation that eventually led to Sandusky's conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office has lauded Aaron, Central Mountain and Children & Youth officials for saving many others from sexual abuse.
-The (Lock Haven) Express
