On Monday, the judge in the Jerry Sandusky case ruled that Sandusky could see eight of his 11 grandchildren at his home, provided a parent is there at all times. He can also communicate with them via phone, e-mail, or video chat. Jill Thomas, the mother of the other three grandchildren, is upset about the court decision:
"I do not believe it is safe for my children, or any children, to be around Jerry Sandusky," Thomas said in a statement.
Thomas is in the middle of a custody dispute with her ex-husband, Matt Sandusky, who was once arrested for repeatedly calling someone an "ass-licker."
The judge in the custody case will have to determine whether Thomas's three children can visit their grandfather. But on at least two occasions after Jerry Sandusky was already under investigation for child abuse (a fact that became known to the local DA in 2009 and was, I've been told, well-known throughout the community at this point), the court made it possible for Jerry Sandusky and his wife Dottie to spend time with Thomas's children under temporary orders granting Matt Sandusky "periods of partial custody to be arranged through...Jerry and Dorothy Sandusky."
That wasn't the court making an ad hoc decision. That was the court granting a request made by Thomas in her petition for protection from abuse from Matt Sandusky, who was displaying aggressive and unhinged behavior, according to the petition. Thomas was worried for her children. But her fears had nothing to do with Jerry Sandusky in June 2010, when she filed her petition with the court (attached below).
Make what you will of this, but after Jerry Sandusky was charged in November 2011, Thomas came forward to say her children told her Jerry Sandusky had "inappropriately touched" her son. Authorities told her that there wasn't enough evidence to file additional charges.
In December 2011, I tried to talk to Thomas about the custody case and her former father-in-law. I drove to her house and knocked on her door. I left her a note. She never responded.