Penn State sexual abuse scandal hits home in rural areas where the victims live

In the wake of child sexual abuse allegations against Penn State University's football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, the media has focused mainly on Centre County, where Penn State is located. But some reporters are reminding us that victims in this case live in some of Pennsylvania's most rural areas.

"In these remote places, nestled between the graceful ridges of the Allegheny Mountains, almost everyone knows someone who was affected by the scandal, and whether they felt comfortable talking about it publicly or not, Penn State's pain is their pain, too," reports Curtis Tate for McClatchy Newspapers. The university has more students than the entire population of Clinton County where Sandusky volunteered at Central Mountain High School as a football coach for three years. Tate details the grand jury report about "Victim 1," who attended the school and alleges sexual abuse by Sandusky. He also reports about the fall-out in the community after the scandal made news.

Elizabeth Regan of The Express in Lock Haven, Pa., reports that Sandusky's case, along with presidential candidate Herman Cain's sexual harassment case, created media storms about everyone but the victims. This is changing, though, and Deb Zinck, who works at the Clinton County Women's Center, told Regan this is a good thing, especially since the community can help the victims cope. Zinck told Regan: "If anything can come out of this, people can become aware that many kids are living this day in and day out. We need to educate our community members on how to stop abuse and look for the flags."