For the better part of a decade, Jerry Sandusky was a fixture in this small, blue-collar community nestled in the Appalachian mountains: a volunteer football coach and eager mentor to some of its disadvantaged young boys.
But with the former assistant Penn State University football coach now accused of sexually abusing eight boys, the Lock Haven area finds itself with unwelcome notoriety as the home of the boy whose allegations sparked the Pennsylvania attorney general’s investigation.
Many here are now second-guessing their interactions with a man known as a legend in college football and asking the unthinkable question: if the allegations against Sandusky are true, could someone they know have been sexually abused?
Sandusky has denied the abuse charges, although he told NBC News he did sometimes shower with boys, which he now regrets.
Lock Haven is a town of about 10,000 on the banks of the Susquehanna River, surrounded by forests and hills. Most of the homes are modest and trailers dot the landscape. Wal-Mart is the place to catch up with neighbors, and the unpretentious downtown hosts a handful of restaurants and shops.
«There honestly isn’t much to do,» one local youth said. «Most kids just play videogames. A lot of kids get into drugs. Mostly just hang out, listen to music, smoke pot and party. Or they lift weights. And hang out at the gym.»
Bud Yost played football alongside Sandusky as a linebacker at Penn State in the 1960s and later as Clinton County commissioner helped Sandusky set up a chapter of the Second Mile charity here. He now says he feels «betrayed» and no longer considers Sandusky a friend.
«An awful lot of people were hurt by the things that are going on, a lot of people who shouldn’t have been hurt,» said Yost, who is now retired. The kids «were betrayed by someone they trusted and believed in. I’m just feeling terrible.»
The economy of Lock Haven, just under an hour’s drive from Penn State, has long been driven by the area’s natural resources, particularly timber. A quarter of the population works in manufacturing. The area has been doing a bit better lately due to the natural gas boom in western Pennsylvania, which has brought jobs and new hotels. On any given morning, gas industry trucks barrel along the county’s highways.
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