Preloading

Did Anyone Suspect Abuse in the Sandusky Home?

Aired on 07/17/2014 | CC tv-14
In 2012, former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of child sexual abuse. Halfway through the nine-day criminal trial, Jerry Sandusky's adopted son Matthew revealed to police that he had been molested by his adoptive father from the time he was a child. Eventually, Matthew came to live with the Sanduskys. In high school, Matthew says, he tried to break off all contact with Jerry Sandusky, but, he says, Sandusky found ways to manipulate him into staying in the home.

Matthew says he tried to alert other adults to the abuse he was facing at home. "I'm telling people the best way that I know how to tell people," he says. "I'm acting out. I'm becoming aggressive. I'm skipping school."

At 17, Matthew says he tried to take his life. "There is no other option at that point in time," he says. "I'm not saying that the suicide attempt in itself was based on the sexual abuse. But I am saying that the sexual abuse was a major contributor to me trying to take my own life."

After his suicide attempt, a probation officer took notice, writing: "The probation department has some serious concerns about the juvenile's safety and his current progress in the placement with the Sandusky family."

Still, no one else asked him what was happening in the Sandusky house. Matthew reflects on his cries for help in this exclusive clip.

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