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Jeff Herman, attorney for victims of sexual abuse, discusses Sandusky sex abuse case on MSNBC

Host: Joining me now from Las Vegas is Jeff Herman, an attorney who specializes in representing sexual abuse victims. Mr. Herman, thank you for your time tonight. How hard is it for these victims to come forward? And do they feel strength in numbers in a case like this? There were eight of them that testified in this case. Take us down that road, how hard is it for them to come forward?

Jeff: Well, right it’s very difficult. The nature of the blooming process which is how these predators find their victims, and bring them along, and ultimately abuse them. It’s such that victims are compliant, they’re not consenting, but they’re compliant victims. 90% of all kids that are sexually abused are abused by somebody they know, and so it’s difficult, it’s embarrassing, They feel like they’ve done something wrong, and so many of them suffer in silence. But what we saw here, and what we’re seeing really around the country now is there’s this collective empowerment by victims coming forward, and they take this power from each other. And very brave to be able to go into court, and stand up, and tell their very difficult stories.

Host: Do you think that Jerry Sandusky was living in a different world, that he though that he would never be called on the carpet legally for any of his actions?

Jeff: Well, I think he was living in that fantasy world I guess of his own, up until you know these charges came to light. I think he knew when he went on Bob Costas, and gave that now very famous interview, he knew he was cooked then. And he was trying to show in the classic pedophile speak that he loved kids, and that he’d done good things for kids. Aside from maybe doing some inappropriate things as well.

Host: Jeff, I’d like your critique of Joe Amendola, the defense attorney. I think that you’ve been rather critical of him, what was your thought listing to him tonight?

Jeff: You know I’ve been baffle you know from my feeling from the beginning as to the way he was handled. But you know I guess when you face amount of evidence, and in this case it was to me this vertical was never in doubt. There was so much evidence, so many victims coming forward, and there really was no reasonable defense, nothing there they’re going to be able to say that was going to get him out of this. Especially, after he’d let him go on television, and say the things that he did. I never thought that he was actually going to come in trial, and speak on his own behalf, that didn’t surprise me. But to come after this trial, and to say that there’s all these innocent people in jail, after his client has just been convicted of these horrific crimes is a slap in the face to these victims, and to other victims who are suffering in silence. And the result of this I believe will be that more victims will come forward, not just of Sandusky, but other victims of abuse that are right now staying quite.

Host: Attorney Jeff Herman with us tonight, thanks so much for your time Jeff.