Northwest Indiana Discussion

I agree with the firing but question the offense being a Felony since he'd been doing it all these years and nobody knew. He's sick, no doubt. But exactly who was harmed to promote this to a felony? I know of former judges in Hammond guilty of about the same or worse behind the bench.

Sandusky's Grandson Comes Forward With Allegations of Sexual Abuse

Published November 25, 2011

AP

The allegations towards accused Penn State pedophile Jerry Sandusky continue with his grandson now coming forward with claims of sexual abuse.

ahahahahahahahahaha.
very good.
Is that a 60438 in the return address?

Lake County Prosecutor's office issues warrant for former Highland teacher

By Carmen McCollum carmen.mccollum@nwi.com, (219) 662-5337 | Posted: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 12:30 pm |



Samuel Fies, 33, of St. John

HIGHLAND | A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a former Highland school teacher with six felony counts against him regarding an inappropriate relationship with three female students.

Samuel Fies, 33, of St. John, has been charged with one count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class B felony, one count of child molestation, a Class C felony, one count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a Class C felony, one count of criminal confinement, a Class D felony, one count of child solicitation, a Class C felony, and one count of attempted child seduction, a Class D felony.

The formal charges against Fies were filed with the Lake County Prosecutor's office Tuesday morning. According to the probable cause affidavit, two of the three students are classified as learning disabled and participate in special education classes in the School Town of Highland.

According to the affidavit, Fies developed a relationship with the first student in 2009 when she was in seventh grade and under the age of 14. He reportedly attempted to touch her, brushed up against her and put his fingers down the front of her pants.

In early September 2011, he confined her in his office for a period of time when he continued to touch her.

He communicated with this student through text messages and cell phone, and asked for pictures of her in her underwear.

The affidavit says Fies used a Gateway computer, giving himself the screen names "bbbbgmp" and "s10renew" where he attempted to develop a relationship with two other students, one of whom was 13 years old.

He reportedly contacted the 13-year-old through a MySpace account, through instant messaging and texting. The girl told police that when she talked to him by phone, it sounded like her social studies teacher.

The teacher asked her to do a variety of sexually related things to herself, and told her that he was masturbating.

The third girl was a 17-year-old Highland High School student whom Fies reportedly met through a dating website.

The girl told police she told the person known only to her as "s10renew" that she was 17. When he asked to date her, she told him he would have to meet her parents first.

On Nov. 23, the Highland School Board held a special meeting and fired Fies based on the recommendation from high school Principal Patrick Weil and School Town of Highland Superintendent Michael Boskovich.

In a letter to Fies dated Nov. 17, Weil notified Fies that his contract was being canceled because of inappropriate interaction with female students, including physical contact; requests for and suggestions of contact or relationship of a sexual nature and electronic communication of a sexual nature, which individually or collectively constitutes immorality and other good or just cause; communication with female students unrelated to legitimate educational or extracurricular purposes, which constitute other good or just cause; and non-cooperation with the administration and refusal to answer questions during its investigation of allegations of misconduct, which constitutes insubordination.

In addition to teaching, Fies had been a track and cross country coach at Highland Middle School and/or the high school. He also coached varsity swim for boys and girls at Griffith schools up until this school year, when a new coach was hired.

Highland attorney Rhett Tauber is representing the School Town of Highland in the matter. Fies is represented by Highland attorney Stephen Scheele. Scheele could not be reached for comment.

Penn State’s McQueary tells details of Sandusky’s shower incident

HARRISBURG, Pa. — As soon as he walked into the Penn State locker room, Mike McQueary heard running water and rhythmic, slapping sounds of “skin on skin.” He looked in a mirror and saw a naked Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant coach, holding a young boy by the waist from behind, up against the wall in the campus shower.

“I just saw Coach Sandusky in the showers with a boy and what I saw was wrong and sexual,” McQueary recalled telling his father that night in 2002. He repeated it the next morning to coach Joe Paterno, who slumped deep into his chair at his kitchen table.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry you had to see that,’” McQueary said.

Next up for Jerry Sandusky: a chat with Oprah?
by Lynette Rice

Jerry Sandusky’s (perplexing) media tour may continue in the new year. Having already given interviews to NBC and the New York Times, Sandusky and his wife Dottie are reportedly open to a sit-down with the likes of Oprah Winfrey or Barbara Walters.

Sandusky’s attorney Joe Amendola told PennLive.com that the couple would also consider appearances on CBS’ 60 Minutes or NBC’s Rock Center — which already ran a phone-in interview between Bob Costas and the ex-Penn State football coach who’s been charged with sexually abusing boys. The appearance gave Rock Center a much-needed boost in the ratings on Nov. 14: The news magazine averaged a 1.3 rating/3 share and 4.4 million viewers, up 30 percent from the previous week.

Sandusky’s wife has come under scrutiny for what she may have witnessed in the family home. In the most recent indictment of Sandusky, a boy told the grand jury that the ex-coach assaulted him in the basement bedroom of the Sandusky home. Knowing Sandusky’s wife was upstairs, the boy screamed for help but no one came.

A sit-down with the couple could result in a ratings bonanza for whoever snags it. Even the women of The Talk told EW they would relish the chance to interview the notorious ex-coach, though cohost Sheryl Underwood quipped, “It just wouldn’t go good!”

Former college coach guilty of violating sex offender release

By Bob Kasarda bob.kasarda@nwi.com, (219) 548-4345 | Posted: Thursday, January 5, 2012 2:50 pm

HAMMOND | A former college baseball coach who was convicted in 2006 of using his computer to solicit sex from who he thought were underage girls, has been found guilty of violating his supervised release by failing to attend counseling and an evaluation.

Brandon Candiano was allowed to remain on supervised release but now must allow warrantless searches of his home at any time and cannot possess a cellphone that can access the Internet, court records state.

Candiano, a Dyer resident, Andrean High School graduate, former assistant baseball coach at Chicago State University and son of former Highland High athletic director Dan Candiano, was sentenced in May 2006 to 82 months in prison. He was to spend five years on supervised release after prison.

A federal jury convicted Candiano of using a home computer to access an Internet chat room to seduce underage girls.

The government presented evidence Candiano first tried to lure "Justine" on Nov. 30, 2004, and then "Kira," who he thought was an unsupervised 13-year-old Hammond girl eager to meet and have sex, during a 48-minute exchange of emails Jan. 9, 2005. The girls were actually undercover adult investigators.