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Psychologists Discuss Pedophiles, Their Victims; Suspicion Over Sandusky, Adopted Son as Early as 1995; Penn State Still Under Fire Over Sexual Abuse; Chicago Man Sues City Over Tasing; Emotional Day for Penn State Fans; Arab League Suspends Membership, Calls for Sanctions

Aired November 12, 2011 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, you don't usually see a college football game start with a collective prayer from fans on both teams kneeling together on the field. But that's how it began today. For Penn State Nittany Lions in their first game since --

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us here in the CNN NEWSROOM. You know, you don't usually see a college football game start with a collective prayer from fans on both teams kneeling together on the field. But that's how it began today. For Penn State's Nittany Lions in their first game since child rape allegations were leveled against a former coach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Give as you great game. Amen.

Amen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Very moving moment there. A prayer for the eight alleged victims, former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Out of jail today on $100,000 bail. The scandal leading to Penn State's first game without head coach Joe Paterno in 46 years. Beaver Stadium was filled with navy blue today. Tears in the eyes of generations of students, alumni, and fans. Many of them having to reconcile their sadness over the horrific allegations against a loss of Paterno from the program he ran for so long. His departure may have seemed sudden but his fate was sealed long ago by how he handled some say mishandled an eyewitness report in 2002 that his former defensive coordinator rape a young boy in a locker room shower. Interim Head Coach Tom Bradley always dreamed of taking his job but certainly not like this. After today's three-point loss to Nebraska, he held a news conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADLEY, INTERIM HEAD COACH, PENN STATE: I thought that our fans, as I asked them to do on Thursday night to show class and dignity, and they did all day today. There was a -- the crowd, the solidarity for the children, for the victims, I thought it was a touching moment by Penn State. And the class that I had asked them to exhibit. I really didn't have to ask them because I knew they would do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We have team coverage for you. Both Mary Snow and Athena Jones on the Penn State campus for us right now.

Mary, I'm going to start with you. With all this attention being paid to the game today, we don't want to lose sight of the investigation at the heart of all of this. Jerry Sandusky, that former Penn State defensive coordinator, accused of sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year period. So, what's the latest on the investigation?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you know, Don, the rest of Sandusky came just one week ago today. And apart from the criminal investigation, of course, there was an investigation launched here at Penn State yesterday with the -- university naming Kenneth Frazier, the CEO of Merck Pharmaceuticals. He is a member of the board of trustees, to lead a special committee into who knew what and when did they know about these allegations against Jerry Sandusky, dating back to the 1990s. Looking into what -- how the university handled its response. And of course, there's also a Department of Education investigation launched earlier in this week.

In this past week, of course, Joe Paterno, Penn State's president, job have been gone. Also, two officials put on administrative leave. The last one was Mike McQueary. He was not at today's game. He is an assistant coach. And he was a graduate assistant, on according to a Grand Jury Report, he witnessed an alleged rape by Jerry Sandusky of a 10-year-old boy. And while he did nothing legally wrong, according -- what -- the question has been is what didn't he do in terms and why didn't he do more when he witnessed that alleged rape. Now, Jerry Sandusky through his attorney has disputed these sex abuse charges. And we have learned from the lawyer, his lawyer, that a rock was thrown through a window at Sandusky's home -- Don.

LEMON: OK, Mary. Thank you very much. We appreciate that. I want to go to Athena Jones. Now, Athena, many Penn State students did not react well to the news that Paterno was fired on Wednesday. We saw rioting on the campus, news van was turned over. Unbelievable images from people who are looking at home. And I'm sure, the people who were there were surprised by it as well. Today, it's senior day, their team lost a tough one in Nebraska by three points. So, what's the mood there like now, Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the crowd has begun to stand out since the game a while ago. But we went -- we were there right outside as the people poured out of the stadium. There was some chants of "We are Penn State." But mostly was a fairly calm crowd. We spoke with a few people, some will said that they might have won if Joe Paterno had been there. Others saying, not so much. You never really know. But for the most part before the game leading up to it, it was really very much your typical college football tailgating party. You had you a lot of people there and their Penn State gear. People with shirts saying the legend and showing Joe Paterno's years of service.

People wearing shirts that said Joe knows football. And that sort of thing. We also saw signs that said Penn State pride is bigger than football. But you had some mixed emotions as well. I talked to a log of the fans out there, many of them were either alumni or Penn State family and friends and fans. People that had been coming to the games all their lives. And they -- some of them were angry at the media for what they see as blowing what happened Wednesday night out of proportion. Others said that they were upset with the school for the way they handle the firing of Joe Paterno. And so, others said that we should not be focusing on either of those things but focusing on these children, these alleged abuse victims -- Don.

LEMON: Are the students -- I would imagine -- and from the interviews I had been seeing and you are there, the students starting to show an understanding over why Paterno was dismissed?

JONES: Well, it is interesting they do. Many of the people I spoke with, I say, "Did you read the charges? Did you read the indictment?" They say, "Yes, I did." But they still wanted to hear Coach Paterno speak himself. We know now that he's released a statement. He won't be speaking and now has a lawyer. He's now going to be speaking right now. But people wanted to hear that. They felt that the -- because of the media, the university was forced to act more quickly than it should have, they wanted to see the story play out a little bit more and find out more of the truth directly from Coach Paterno himself. But at the same time, there are a lot of people who still support Coach Paterno and he should mention though that earlier today there was someone who hired one of those small planes to do a loop -- loops around the stadium carrying one of those long bangers. The banner said, Joe is so dirty, he needs a shower. And so, certainly a lot of different feelings and emotions around here. Seems very complicated. People have complicated emotions around here I should say, Don.

LEMON: Yes, stick with me here Athena. Because I want to show some live images now. Live pictures of Joe Paterno's home where people are starting to gather from his home. We have seen media doing reports there all day. People have been dropping by. But this picture, live pictures coming in to us from Pennsylvania. Athena, you know, the question I asked of the students starting to, you know really understand why. You know, there has been criticism about whether or not this game should have happened. But it does -- just by the game happening, whether you agree with that or not, it is sort of gives -- it sort of makes you feel and probably the people there that they are moving beyond this at least trying to. And let the investigation take care of its own and then the university gets back to normal. As normal as it can get.

JONES: Well, there seem to be some of that. Certainly, there's more than 100,000 people would not have wanted to see the game canceled. It was a big game as you mentioned. Senior day, the last home game of the season. And certainly, very strong tailgating tradition here. We arrived very early in the morning. And people were already setting up. They were already beginning to cook, beginning to drink or in some cases, continuing to drink. This was a big deal, this day. And people that we spoke with would have wanted to see this happen. I mean, this is the kind of thing that it would have been a huge deal, of course, if it had been canceled. In some ways, this is their way of moving on. It is the sense that we got from people. You know. They are upset about what happened with Joe Paterno, they still want to see his side of -- hear his side of the story. But they are also happy to come out and watch the typical college football game.

LEMON: All right. Athena Jones, thank you very much. We appreciate your reporting. Stand by, we will be back to you on CNN. If we can just get that live picture, I want to say again, live pictures of Joe Paterno's home. You now, Joe Paterno was the head coach for such a long time. And this is their first loss without him as coach. You hear applause there in front of Joe Paterno's home. So, you can imagine he still has some degree of support. And probably overwhelming support in the community. I'm sure the people there understand just how dire and how serious these allegations are and what prosecutors have been saying they believe was a cover-up to -- in many ways. But you can certainly understand being there so long, why some may be in such support of Joe Paterno. We will continue to cover this. Much, much more on the Penn State scandal.

So, ahead, I will be speaking with human behavior experts Dr. Wendy Walsh and Alduan Tartt about why people who saw the alleged abuse didn't do more to stop it. Also ahead, what are the legal consequences for Penn State and officials involved if the allegations prove true?

Legal analyst Holly Hughes will join us for that. And this behavior may have involved some of Sandusky's own children going back to the mid 1990s. Couldn't get any worse. Again, they may have involved. A reporter who covered that story will also be here with us, we will have that for you in just a little bit. Penn State has a big story here in the U.S. But there's breaking news that we are following overseas. A major world leader has just announced his resignation. Live report two minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Venezuelan government says, a Colombian man possibly linked to paramilitaries maybe the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Washington Nationals Catcher Wilson Ramos. Ramos was rescued Friday night in a daring operation led by Venezuelan security forces. They tracked the major league star to a house in a remote mountainous region. Official say, security forces came under fire. They responded and rescued Ramos unharmed. Ramos spoke to reporters today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILSON RAMOS, WASHINGTON NATIONALS CATCHER (through a translator): I am very happy for the rescue operation they carried out. Very thankful to the government in the national army. I didn't expect them. They were holding me captive was a very remote place. Basically a jungle. And see, I was praying to God to bring me home safely to my family. And look at these guys. They risked their lives to save mine and I am very thankful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Six Venezuelans are in custody for the kidnapping and arrests warrant has been issued for the suspected mastermind.

The Arab League is adding to the pressure on Syria's government to end the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. The league suspended Syria's membership today and called for sanctions against the regime. These images are said to be from the City of Daraa, joyous protesters celebrating the Arab League's decision. On Friday, Syrians took to the streets to call for the league to freeze Syria's membership. The move was welcomed but wasn't enough to end more bloodshed. Activists say, 21 people were killed today in Syria. Ten of those were in the City of Holmes. These pictures show you some of the destruction in that city. It has emerged as an epicenter for the rebellion and the focal point for the brutal crackdown by Syrian Security Forces.

The most colorful leader in Italy's modern history quit today. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi stepped down, ending his reign with Italy on the brink of economic disaster. The billionaire confounded critics and exasperated his fellow European leaders to the better end. The pressure on Italy's finances finally forced his hand. Many Italians and investors were overjoyed by his resignation.

Let's go live now to CNN's Matthew Chance with more on this developing story. Matthew, what do you know?

MATTHEW CHANCE, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much. Well, know, there have been wild celebrations in the center of Rome, the Italian capital this evening. With that news, that development, that Silvio Berlusconi after so long as the Prime Minister of Italy handing in his resignation to the president's office. Thousands of people gathered outside that office in the center of Rome. They were jeering, they were shouting, they were booing. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has arrived to hand over his formal resignation.

Things got so, you know, kind of aggressive at one point that the police were finding it very difficult to hold the crowds back and I think a decision was taken not to allow Silvio Berlusconi to be paraded past the crowds on the way out. And so, he slipped out of the side entrance which was ironic really for a man that has spent so much time in the public spotlight, he's craved the publicity, has been so controversial and sort of charismatic, and you know, in the public eye. To leave in what was an almost secretive back doorway. Very emotional evening indeed here in Rome -- Don.

LEMON: What is the obvious question, Matthew, what is next for Italy?

CHANCE: Well, there's a big celebration tonight. And then of course, tomorrow people will wake up. I expect many of them with a hangover. And the real serious business needs to be gotten on with of addressing Italy's very deep and serious economic problems. It has something like $2.6 trillion of public debt. That's obviously a massive burden for a country like this to shoulder and has to cut back on his public spending. They have to be very swinging austerity measures to try to bring the public finances back into line. And that's going to be the very difficult task of the government which we expect will be appointed by the country's presidents tomorrow. To cut back on what public services to try and rein in the public debt.

LEMON: Everyone in the world over is looking to see what happens. Thank you very much. Matthew Chance in Rome for us tonight. Coming up here on CNN, we dig down on the Penn State scandal and the details behind why this coach is getting death threats. Reportedly, he saw a child getting raped and he walked away. How can that be? Discussion straight ahead. But first this.

Social media are having an impact on jobs and which companies are hiring these days. In this week's "Smart is the New Rich," Christine Romans talked to an expert about the benefit of including social media on your resume when looking for a job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF BERCOVICI, FORBES MEDIA AND TECH: It is a great idea to put on your resume or to at least to, you know, sort of tout it in a job interview. People are being asked in job interviews, some of the twitter followers they have. I think a lot of companies are all trying to reinvent themselves for this social era and a lot of the time people running companies are maybe, you know, older and are not as kind of -- fluent in the new social language. And so, they are extra interested in bringing people into the company who are fluent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Here we go. We are going to have a good no-holds bar discussion on this issue. The outrage over the sex abuse scandal at Penn State is not just about one man's alleged actions. But the reported inaction of people who actually say they saw former Coach Jerry Sandusky raping children. Now, the university says, the coach, there he is right there, Mike McQueary is receiving death threats and is now on administrative leave. A warning for you, details that we are about to mention are very graphic and they're disturbing. This is a reality of the story, McQueary is the graduate assistant who entered the Penn State locker room in 2002 and quoting from the Grand Jury Report, saw a naked boy whose age he estimated to be 10 years old with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky. That's Jerry Sandusky as you know the former assistant coach now charged with multiple crimes against boys. So, why didn't McQueary stop the alleged rape of a child as it was happening in front of him?

To talk about it, two human behavior experts joining us now, Dr. Alduan Tartt, is a clinical psychologist. Dr. Wendy Walsh is the host of "The Doctors." Wendy, what's going on here?

WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Well, there is a bunch of factors here, Don, all disturbing. And it is something that we should all pay heed to. So, it will never happen to us. And the first is that, sometimes institutional culture trumps our personal ethics. In other words, if someone high up at CNN was doing something a little shaky, would you tell a superior or would you call the cops? Well, you would like to think you would call the cops. But in that situation, to become a whistle blower, can be a terrifying things, so they can tend to stay with the institution. The other thing is Don, there's a guy code. You know, guys don't talk about sex. Despite what we hear...

LEMON: Wait, Wendy, even that -- come on. Wendy, a boy, a child...

WALSH: Listen. You and I know that. You and I would pick up the phone and call 911.

LEMON: I would go over and intervene. I would go over and intervene.

WALSH: Of course.

LEMON: Listen, I want to ask you this, do you think it would be different? Do you think maybe he would have intervened -- I don't know, I'm just asking you, most people -- I didn't just think about it. I have been thinking about this. What if it was 10-year-old girl?

WALSH: I'm not sure how much gender would have played a role in it. For sure, if he was -- having sex with a woman against her will, I bet he wouldn't have reported it. I mean, I think that this institutional culture may supersede. In other words, he felt like he did something by reporting it to a superior. Now, the problem was the superiors come from a whole other era where this kind of stuff was shoved under the rug. So, Paterno's generation, I mean, this stuff went on back then. But people didn't talk about it. So he thought we will just close up the locker room from that coach, not let him near there and then, that's not -- we will wash our hands of it.

LEMON: I want to bring in Alduan right now. Isn't there a human instinct to Alduan to help out -- remember all those -- the people on the campus. The burning car, turned over cars, burning things. Those people just -- they reacted, their reaction, you just can't fathom it. So, what's going on here with that sort of reaction? Are they too close to it?

ALDUAN TARTT, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Well, you know, you never expect that kind of thing from someone that you like and admire. He had a God-like status in Penn State. So whenever you see abuse and is someone that you know, this happens in the family all the time, with his grandpa, dad or a brother, you just -- you are in shock. And you try to figure out what to do because you like the person. They are in power. So, you start thinking about your job and like Dr. Walsh said, you start thinking about chain of command.

LEMON: OK. Listen, I'm going to read you something from the Grand Jury Report here. And this is for Alduan and for Dr. Wendy. The Grand Jury, it also mention a janitor who saw Sandusky performing oral sex on a boy who looked to be 11 and 13 years of age, between that. He was quote, "distraught" and his co-workers feared the janitor would have a heart attack. He was so upset and yet apparently opted to never tell police. Wendy?

WALSH: Again, the whistle blower syndrome. How often do we actually revere and raise up and thank the whistle blower? Except for Erin Brockovich and Norma Rae. It doesn't happen very often. More often they are vilified. And here is a janitor who needs his job, who's in a place he doesn't have a lot of power and he can have this -- you know, terrible emotional reaction himself. But it is not going to turn into behavior because he can't risk losing his own job. And, again, I'm not defending the behavior. I'm just saying these are the factors that come into play.

LEMON: I thought the same thing as I was reading the Grand Jury report. I was thinking, you know, the janitor, you know, you kind of understand a little bit and then, when you think about the whole thing, I mean is it understandable at all or you just sort of rationalize it?

TARTT: At the time, we all freak out. I mean, think about it, you see something, you figure out what do. But here's what he's going to have the most stress right now. Because he realized that as a by- stand they did nothing, he contributed not only to the rape of the boy but other boys. And he could have stopped it.

LEMON: All right. Alduan, Wendy, hold on one second. There's much more to talk about, the scandal, the mother of one of Jerry Sandusky's alleged victims speaks out. The doctors are going to stay with us to discuss why molesters can get away with their crimes for so long.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Hope you are paying attention to this one. We're back now as promised with Dr. Alduan Tartt and Dr. Wendy Walsh. And I want you guys to listen to this clip from "Good Morning America." The mother of victim one. Victim number one, as he's known, Grand Jury Report speaks about the grip that Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator, had on her child. OK. We will get -- here it is. OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MOTHER: I want justice. I want him -- I want him to be locked up. There's no -- there's no help for somebody that does this. You know, not like this. There's -- he needs to be put away. He needs to be put away for a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Help us understand why is it so hard for boys to reveal their abuse? I know the answer to this question but why -- in your estimation?

TARTT: One, first of all, then I realized this is abuse. It is taught that a manipulator that this is love. This is how we show affection to one another. So, they don't want to turn on someone that they love. That's why they manipulate it. And then two, when they realizes the abuse, they feel ashamed, they don't want to be seen as homosexual, are gay are liking it, are inviting it. And then three, they don't want to be seem to be weak. And then four, often times, there are threats made that I will humiliate you, no one will believe you. I will go ahead and tell everyone what you did and I will make it seem like you did. So, a lot of people are afraid.

LEMON: Lot of people are paying attention to this, Dr. Wendy. And they want to know, should I know anything? What are the warning signs that my child may be suffering from sexual abuse?

WALSH: The warning signs are if your child is not wanting to go to practice, is not wanting to spend time with the person or spending way too much time and in the kind of infatuation love around somebody who is an adult, you know, coach, counselor, whatever. You know, the biggest thing we want to stretch here though, Don, is that incidents like this hurt every worthy and wonderful mentoring program that's out there. There are great people getting involved in the lives of at- risk youth around the country and it breaks my heart when someone like this can ruin it for so many great programs like the boys and girls club, et cetera. So, anyway, you have to be little cautious.

LEMON: You know, we have been saying this all along. And I have been reading some of the criticism of the media and they say what -- you know, it is -- as if you guys have convicted Jerry Sandusky already and by saying alleged, accused of, that's not convicting someone.

But when in these cases, usually there aren't a collusion of young people, especially young men, Wendy, and I will let Alduan weigh in on this who come together to lie on a suspect. It is usually more victims than people who actually speak out and say I was victimized by this person.

WALSH: Of course. I'm sure there are many, many more victims. The average pedophile abuses more than 100 boys or girls in their career, as a pedophile. I'm sure there are many other victims out there.

LEMON: Alduan?

TARTT: when we think about sex drive, often we think about sex, if it's affiliated with a child, that's how often they are going to abuse. It is very common to link yourself with a church or organization in which they can trust you for to you manipulate, especially with disadvantaged youth that don't know what proper love is. They have come from disadvantaged backgrounds, dysfunctional families. Here I am, and I pour in to you and I form this relationship with you, and once I have a relationship with you, then I can abuse you because you don't know you're being --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: They groom the families as well as the young person?

ALDUAN: Absolutely. They take care of you. So it is hard to see them him as a bad person, when I'm also taking care of you and loving you in other ways that are appropriate.

LEMON: Dr. Wendy, Dr. Tartt, thanks to both of you. We appreciate it.

TARTT: Thank you.

LEMON: We are learning more information about Jerry Sandusky and his family. Next, a local reporter joins us live. She first talked to us last weekend when the story was still breaking and she will tell us what she has uncovered about Sandusky and his relationship with his adopted son.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A game unlike any other in the history of the once-revered Penn State football program, beginning with a collective prayer by fans and both teams kneeling on the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And to protect the victims that -- that --

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Alleged victims of Penn State's former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, out on $100,000 bail today. The child sex abuse scandal leading to Penn State's first game without head coach, Joe Paterno, in 46 years after he was fired this week.

Penn State's new president, Rodney Erikson, who took over when former president, Graham Spanier, was fired along with Paterno at a news conference after the three-point loss to Nebraska today. He defended the decision to go ahead with the game after such an upsetting week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODNEY ERIKSON, PRESIDENT, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: I personally felt that this was the time to play but it was also a time when we could recognize and bring national focus to the problem of sexual abuse. And to do so in a way that reflected unity and that reflected support and that reflected the need for us to bring these issues out into the open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The earliest offense, in the grand jury report against Jerry Sandusky, is from 1998. But a story in the "Patriot News" of central Pennsylvania shows, as early as 1995, there were concerns of abuse. Who may have been the victim here? Sandusky's adopted son, Matt.

Joining me now is a reporter who wrote the story on Matt Sandusky, Sarah Ganim.

Sarah, you report that Matt himself wrote a letter requesting to stay at the Sandusky house and -- so what did you find out that -- how did you find out Matt may have been abused? What's going on? SARAH GANIM, REPORTER, PATRIOT NEWS: Well, in 1994, Matt Sandusky was a Second Mile child who Jerry kind of took under his wing. His mom had expressed concerns about this. But in 1995, Matt got into trouble with the law. He set a fire. He was a juvenile. And that was kind of the axis for Jerry to take him into their house as a foster child. Things kind of started to spiral out of control.

There are two sides to this story. Some say that Jerry specifically, through his attorney, said Matt had a very troubled family life. And Matt's mom, biological mom, says that Jerry was the reason that he was acting out. For whatever reason, he was acting out. And this was something that was going through the juvenile court process. So, in that process, you can see from court documents back then, that his mom was expressing concerns about a clingy kind of relationship that was going on between her son and Jerry. And --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: That was --

GANIM: -- she testified about that.

LEMON: There was a restraining order of -- there was a straining order at some point against Sandusky, right?

GANIM: Well, sort of. When -- when he was arrested on Saturday, Matt went to his house. Then, he brought their children. He is now an adult. He is in his 30s. He has small children. When Jerry was arrested Saturday, he brought the children to his house and Matt's ex- wife almost immediately asked that Jerry have no unsupervised contacts with these kids. That's in light of the recent charges.

But as far as Matt goes, you know, what we know about him now is he still maintains a relationship with Sandusky. And you could see from that -- those court documents for that restraining order, that -- which is not technically called a restraining order, but you can see that he -- you know, clearly still has a relationship with him because he took his kids to his house.

LEMON: You also interview the mothers of two of Sandusky's accusers, known as victim one and victim six in the grand jury presentment. Victim one, the boy who basically set off this investigation that led to Sandusky's arrest, his mother recently spoke with "Good Morning, America" about how she first learned about Jerry Sandusky's actions. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST, GOOD MORNING, AMERICA: At some point, he came to you and he said he wanted some information about how to look up sex weirdoes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What did you think of that? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I asked him who he was looking up, and he said he wanted to see if Jerry was on there. And I said, well, why would you look him up? And he said, I don't know. He's a weirdo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Sarah, tell us what happened from there. Why did this particular case make the difference and lead to charges?

GANIM: When the mother couldn't get a straight answer out of her son, she went to the school district because Sandusky was a volunteer football coach at that school at the time. And she was concerned that he was taking her son out of class without her permission and this -- and the school district called the child down to the principal's office and asked him, is something going on here? And that's when the allegation was first made. Child said yes.

LEMON: Sarah Ganim, thank you very much. We appreciate your reporting. Stand by. I'm sure we will be relying on you in the near future as well.

Top Penn State officials, including now former Coach Joe Paterno, eventually faced charges for not taking more action against Sandusky. Criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes, weighs in on that question.

And new explosive allegations against former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Three minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Our big story today, Penn State under fire for its handling of child sex abuse allegations against former assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky.

Joining me here to discuss the legal consequences or ramifications of all of this, criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes.

Holly, let's talk about head coach, Joe Paterno, for a minimum. We will talk about that for a minute. I want to talk about Mike McQueary, the Penn State coach, 2002 graduate assistant, said he witnessed Sandusky and a young boy.

I want everybody to imagine -- imagine what a 10-year-old boy looks like. I don't think people realize the average size of a 10-year-old boy. You just say it. I want to put up a picture and say this is what a 10-year-old boy looks like. You see that. Was he legally compelled to tell police?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: You know, unfortunately, we are not. You know, there's no Good Samaritan law. Nobody can force you to get involved, stop a crime or something like that. It is more of a moral obligation and ethical obligation. But, no, he was not -- you know, he didn't have to intervene. I just -- as a human being, I don't understand how you can witness a 10-year- old child being violated and not do something. Here is the thing, Don. He is a big man. He's 6'4", 200-plus pounds. Sandusky was naked at the time. If you rushed over and grabbed the child and ran out of the locker room, he is not going to follow you, OK. Yes, he could have absolutely intervened and stopped that assault on the spot. Then we would know who that victim is. We still don't know who that victim is.

LEMON: That's why he hasn't been charged. Paterno hasn't been. You know, Curley and Schultz have been. In the complaint it says -- just grab it here -- "notified by two different Penn State employees of the alleged sexual exploitation of youth. Pennsylvania mandatory reporting statute for suspected child abuse located is located" -- and they give it and they say, "Provides a staff or a member of a school reports abuse pursuant to that within 48 hours. Within 48 hours to the Department of Public Welfare of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." And oral report should have been made to this Center County Children and Youth Services. Then it goes on to explain that.

HUGHES: Right.

LEMON: They had 48 hours. They were supposed to report to it some sort of agency.

HUGHES: That's exactly right. And that's where they fell down on the job. And that's why we are still talking about the possibility of additional charges against these people because we all know -- let's just call it what it is -- pedophilia, OK? That's not a one-time act, Don. You don't just have sex with a 10-year-old boy once and then stop. These men had to know what -- it is common knowledge -- this is an ongoing activity. Sandusky had adopted children in his home and nobody intervened. Nobody went to the police.

LEMON: Let's talk about Paterno. After McQueary, he said he was shocked. The two -- the young boy -- this is allegedly, according to the report, saw him. And he was so upset, he went and told his father. His father said come over -- leave and come over the next morning they go to Joe Paterno's house.

HUGHES: Right.

LEMON: So here's the thing. In this, they -- they may not be legally culpable in this case. What about civil, do we know -- is that --

HUGHES: I think there will be a lot of civil suits coming. It will be from every victim from that point on. Because at that point in time, Paterno and the higher-up had that duty to report to the welfare society, to some agency that handles child abuse, and they didn't do so. So, yes, there's going to be an amazing amount of culpability that will come from these civil suits.

And if enough victims come forward, and honestly, 15 years, he could have abused so many people, you can be looking at class action.

LEMON: All right, let's talk about Pennsylvania's whistle blowing law. Some people are wonder why Paterno, and not McQueary. Is he -- does he have some sort of -- I guess, this whistle blowing law helping him in some way because he was the first one to notify people?

HUGHES: Exactly. He is also in a subservient position. At the time, he was a graduate assistant. It's not like he's the head of the football program, like Joe Paterno is. He is not the vice president of finance, like Curley is. He is not in a position of power. He goes to his boss, Paterno. He says this is it. Paterno goes turns around and goes to his boss, says now -- you know, we know about this. At that point, that is where they failed. That's where they fall down on the job. See, as a graduate assistant, he is not in that power authority position. But he is notifying the people who are and saying, this is occurring and occurring on our campus. That's where they fell down. They didn't further that complain.

LEMON: I heard some of the students on a news program saying well, you know, we don't know what Joe Paterno knew and he hasn't -- you know, we haven't heard the full story. We haven't.

HUGHES: Not yet.

LEMON: We haven't heard the whole story. But I do think it is very telling in that Joe Paterno himself said, my only failing -- the only thing I wish in hindsight is that I had done more.

HUGHES: Right.

LEMON: That I had done more. That's very telling.

HUGHES: It is a tacit admission, Don. One of the things I find startling is part of the Penn State alma mater is "May be do nothing to bring shame upon this institution." Come on. Every single one of those guys fell down on the job when it comes to that.

LEMON: We have to run, Holly. Thank you very much.

OK, imagine being tased not once but 11 times. That's what an Illinois man says happened to him for no reason. And he's seeking payback from the city of Chicago. A bizarre case, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Holly Hughes is back.

Holly, real quick, let's talk about Dominique Strauss-Kahn. We got carried away with the other subject. He returned to France after rape charges were dropped in the U.S. He is linked to another scandal. This involves an alleged prostitution ring, and he wants to talk about it.

How does that benefit him? Where are his lawyers?

HUGHES: Well, his lawyers are the reason he hasn't talked so far. He's, of course, been lambasted in the French media now, which he thought, if he got out of the United States charges and went home, he'd be embraced. His problem is that they're crucifying him in the French press. He wants to defend himself. He wants to say I'm not guilty of this. The reason we haven't seen such a statement is because he does have lawyers. They're telling him, keep your mouth shut. It can't help him.

LEMON: Man, the stories -- the stories this week are a lot of men behaving badly.

Let's talk about an Illinois man suing the city of Chicago, saying he was stunned with a taser 11 times by police.

So, Holly Hughes, police didn't apologize for that incident, right?

HUGHES: Correct.

LEMON: He's 27 years old. His name is Jose Tapia. He says police stunned him repeatedly with that taser, confusing him with a wanted man with the same name. Hospitalized for injuries, federal lawsuit against the city, all of that. Where does this case stand?

HUGHES: What happened was they actually charged this man, who was not the person they were looking for, with aggravated battery and obstruction of officers for resisting arrest. It went to a jury trial. That jury found him not guilty. They listened to his story, and what the police officer said. They acquitted him. And that's why we see this civil suit being filed now as a violation of his civil rights.

LEMON: How much money? How much of a settlement are we talking about?

HUGHES: I'll tell you what, I think they're probably going to end up with a couple million. This is egregious. This is off-the-charts wrong. There were six or seven officers out there. Don't tell me that one man needed to be tased 11 times for them to get him under control. And his wife is in the car screaming the whole time. That's not who you want, please stop.

LEMON: All right, we'll follow that one as well.

Holly Hughes, appreciate you dropping by, as we always do.

HUGHES: Thank you.

LEMON: Talk about an inspirational story. In our "Human Factor" today, Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a man without arms or legs who just climbed Georgia's Stone Mountain. Now he's preparing to climb the highest mountain in Africa.

(HUMAN FACTOR)

LEMON: A major snowstorm is about to hit the Rockies. Our meteorologist, Jacque Jeras, on just how deep the snow will get after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Brace yourselves. People living in parts of the Rocky Mountains are dealing with a major blizzard tonight.

Meteorologist Jacque Jeras joins us now.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know.

LEMON: Not good.

JERAS: It's not good. It's not so much that the snow is going to be so heavy. You know, you're used to that in the high country. It's November. But the winds with this thing are particularly brutal. And we've been seeing some wind gusts reports beyond hurricane force. We've got a strong area of low pressure that's pushing it here. Heavy snow can be expected. In fact, a couple of feet will be possible by the end of the day tomorrow in parts of the Wasatch and parts of the Rocky Mountain range. This is certainly a very large storm. Colorado, 99 miles per hour. That is what your wind gust report was. Also Utah at 74 miles per hour. We have a live picture to show you from their web cam out of the ski resort there in Alta. You can see the tree tops and that's about it. The snow is coming down so heavy there today. They're likely going to end up with a foot before the day is over.

Snow basin, 63 mile per hour gusts there. Boulder, Colorado, 62. And Sundance getting a wind report of 58 miles per hour. We have strong winds in Denver, too. That's why we're getting some problems at the airports. We have delays about 40 minutes right now. Also runway issues, by the way, if you're traveling in Newark, at 35 miles per hour.

So overall, it has been a really ugly day across parts of the west. We've got three storms basically that we're dealing with. We have the one, which is in the Rocky Mountain state. We have one that is another over here into the Pacific Northwest bringing heavy snow into the Cascades. Last, but not least, Don, it's not true that it never rains in California.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Oh, really?

JERAS: Look at San Diego. Yes, coming in on some heavy rain. That's going to be out of there by tomorrow.

LEMON: Remember, anchorman, San Diego.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: I like Ron Burgundy.

LEMON: You love Ron Burgundy.

JERAS: Good night.

LEMON: Good luck to the people in the Rockies. Yes. Good luck.

Thank you, Jacque Jeras. See you back here in a bit. JERAS: OK.

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here one hour from now.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer begins in just a moment.