From Trailer Park to Millions: Sabastian Paden’s Rise to Wealth Through Testifying in Jerry Sandusky Trial
In 2012, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of sexually abusing ten individuals, eight of whom were identified. The conviction came after an 11-day trial on June 22, with the jury convicting Sandusky on 45 counts. Later that year, on October 9, Judge John Cleland declared Sandusky a sexually violent predator and sentenced him to 30 to 60 years in prison.
Frank Report has examined Aaron Fisher’s story here and here.
A $20 Million Yarn
Let us look at millionaire Sabastian Ryan Paden, born in 1993, who was 19 when he earned his first $20 million.
It came from about 20 minutes of testifying.
Talk about rags to riches. Paden lived with his mother in a trailer park in McClure, PA, and said he did not remember when he last saw his father.
In 2004, when he was just 11 years old, Sabastian Ryan Paden’s relationship with Jerry Sandusky began. It was Paden’s second summer participating in The Second Mile, a charity for children founded by Sandusky.
Sandusky, known for mentoring children, invited Paden to various activities. These included church services, racquetball games, and swimming. He also welcomed the young boy into his home, where he would play pool, air hockey, shuffleboard, and darts in the basement, where there was also a bathroom and bedroom.
The family room in Sandusky's basement (Photo courtesy of Dottie Sandusky)
The family room in Sandusky’s basement (Photo courtesy of Dottie Sandusky)
Paden remained friends with Sandusky until he was 18 – then opportunity knocked.
Reversal of Fortune
On November 4, 2011, Paden’s mother, Angela Quidetto, watched the arrest of Sandusky on TV.
The Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General had publicized a hotline for prospective Sandusky victims.
News reports indicated Penn State would be on the hook because of Sandusky’s association with the university.
It was clear to Quidetto, as it was to the civil lawyer she retained for her son, that for any would-be victims, or fakers, willing to pretend they were victims, there was a windfall to be had.
Quidetto called the assistant principal of the high school her son attended, who contacted the Pennsylvania State Troopers.
Before she could tell her son what she planned, the troopers showed up at the trailer.
Paden’s answers were unrehearsed. He told the troopers that Sandusky had not done anything sexually to him.
His story changed shortly afterward – and, with his mother’s encouragement, he became a witness for the prosecution.
Trial Testimony
At the trial, Paden said he spent “every weekend,” some 100 to 150 times, in Sandusky’s basement from 2005 – 2008, where Sandusky molested him.
Paden, 18, seemed not to know the words “fellatio,” “oral sex” or “blow job.”
Paden: He made me give him a oh, how do you suck his penis, is how you put it. He came into the room, pulled his pants down, laid on top of me, kind of forced it in.
Prosecutor: Did he say anything?
Paden: Yeah, he said, ‘suck my penis’ is how you’d have to put it.
Pros: Did you want to do that?
Paden: No.
Pros: After the first time that the defendant made you suck his penis? Did he ever do it again?
Paden: Yeah.
Pros: Did he do anything else to your body that you haven’t told us about yet?
Paden: He put his penis in my butt. That’s how you’d have to put it.
Pros: You have any idea how old you were?
Paden: Maybe 13 and 14, maybe 15 between them a few years;
He came in. I sucked his penis. And then he got real aggressive. Just forced me into it. And I just went with it. There was no fighting against it.
Pros: Did you want to do that?
Paden: No. What was I going to do? I mean, look at him. He’s a big guy. He was bigger than me at the time, way bigger than me.
Pros: Did you do anything to try to get away?
Paden: Sometimes scream. Sometimes, tell him to get off of me. But other than that, who was there? No one can hear you down there. You’re always down there.
Though locked in the basement of the Sandusky home, forced into oral sex and sodomy, screaming for help, Paden continued to go to school during the week and return to the basement every weekend, and never said a word to anyone.
Pros: Did you want to keep going back to his house?
Paden: No.
Pros: Why did you keep going?
Paden: Because I was just my mom wanted me to go.
Pros: Did you tell her he was doing any of these things?
Paden: No.
Pros: Why not?
Paden: How are you supposed to tell your mom something like that?
Pros: Did you say anything to anybody else growing up at that time?
Paden: No.
Sabastian Paden
Paden was almost 19 at the time of his testimony.
Defense Asks Questions
Sandusky’s defense attorney asked Paden about the anal raping.
Defense: Did you ever need medical attention for that?
Paden: No.
Defense: Did you ever bleed?
Paden: Yes.
The defense asked how he managed to prevent his mother from finding out.
Paden: I just dealt with it. I have a different way of coping with things.
Defense:… when you were with Mr. Sandusky in the basement, you screamed?
Paden: Yes
Defense: …and you said Mrs. Sandusky was home?
Paden: Yes.
Defense: And she didn’t come to your aid.
Paden: I think the basement is soundproof. I don’t know.
Defense: You think the basement is soundproof?
Paden: Yes. It’s a big basement.
Lost Underwear and Broken Trust
After Paden testified, the prosecution called his mother to the stand, Angela Quidetto, who testified she never noticed anything suspicious except that his underwear went missing.
She said Sandusky gave Paden Nike sneakers, athletic clothes, and a racquetball set.
She wept as she said, “I wish he would have just gave him some underwear to replace the underwear that I could never find in my laundry.”
Similar Stories
Aaron Fisher had almost the same story as Paden’s, except Paden’s story had anal rape and forced fellating of Sandusky, while Fisher’s story had no anal rape. Still, he had to fellate and be fellated.
Twisted Testimonies
Aaron Fisher and Sabastian Paden both testified at Sandusky’s trial in nearly identical language:
Paden ‘Every Weekend’
Pros: How many times did you stay at the defendant’s house over the course of about three years between 2005 and into 2008, 2009?
Paden: Every weekend from Friday to Saturday.
***
Pros: Do you know how many times that was?
***
Paden: … Between 150, maybe 100.
Aaron Fisher
Aaron Fisher, victim #1, provided a photograph as an answer to his detractors, that speaks a million words.
And Fisher’s ‘Every Weekend’
Pros: Did you stay at the defendant’s house a lot of times?
Fisher: At first, it was the occasional weekend, then…
Pros: Every weekend?
Fisher: Yeah.
Prosecutor: …between 2005 and 2008… Did you stay at the defendant’s house 50 times or 100 times or more?
Fisher: It was probably close to a hundred, over.
How could two rascals say they were alone in the same basement bedroom, getting molested every weekend between 2005 and 2008, and never meet?
Locked in the Basement!
Another curious thing. Paden could not escape because Sandusky locked him in the basement and left him alone, except when Sandusky came down to abuse him or bring him meals.
The basement door only locked from in the inside.
The basement door is only locked from inside the basement.
He was not a very resourceful teenager.
While he could scream and push, he never thought of leaving through the basement door or climbing through the windows.
He could have escaped any time.
Soundproof? No, not at all. Paden could open the door and leave at any time. Let's face it, he lied.
The basement had a door and windows that opened to the outside, and only locked from the inside.
Soundproof? No, not at all. Paden could open the door and leave at any time. Let's face it, he lied.
Paden could have left through the basement door.
Soundproof? No, not at all. Paden could open the door and leave at any time. Let's face it, he lied.
If he had, he could have walked across this field to a neighbor for help.
Tour of the basement, courtesy of Dottie Sandusky:
Closer look at the windows and door, courtesy of Dottie Sandusky:
Getting the Gold
A year after the trial, Fisher, through his attorneys, settled with Penn State for $7.5 million.
Paden wisely chose attorney Stephen E. Raynes of Raynes McCarty, who would not settle too quickly.
Stephen E. Raynes
When settlement discussions broke down, Raynes sued to compel Penn State to “finally fulfill its responsibilities to this young man.”
Raynes said Paden had “depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks of abuse at Sandusky’s hands, sleep disturbance and other problems.”
Quidetto wrote, “My son and I are both in therapy likely for years, for the rest of our lives.”
At least they can afford it.
On April 9, 2015, Penn State trustees voted to approve a settlement with Paden for $20 million.
Paden posted on Facebook, “Shit I’m balling like a mother fuck hell yea $.”
Acknowledgments
Several people have been instrumental in uncovering the truth about the Sandusky case, dedicating countless hours to researching, interviewing, and writing about what happened.
Former chair of English at UC Berkeley and author Dr. Frederick Crews has written numerous articles on the Sandusky case. He is a literary critic and has done extensive research on Freud and recovered memory therapy.
Filmmaker/podcaster John Ziegler, who created the website framingpaterno.com, has generated scores of podcast interviews and offers in-depth research into the case.
Investigative reporter Ralph Cipriano has written comprehensive stories for bigtrial.net exposing what mainstream media wouldn’t write about.
Author Mark Pendergrast wrote the book, The Most Hated Man in America: Jerry Sandusky and the Rush to Judgment, which meticulously documents the case, surrounding media hysteria, political landscape, and repressed memory critique.
Most of what I reported above was gleaned from their hard work. My special thanks to them. Click on the links to see more of their work.
John and Patti Galluppi, family friends of the Sandusky’s, created the website Justice for Jerry, which provides much of the documents and breaks down the alleged facts of the case and the stories of the various accusers.
NCIS, Special Agent John Snedden has investigated and commented on the myriad flaws and anomalies in the case.
Rev. Joseph Stains, pastor of Mount Hope United Methodist Church, wrote a five-part series in Pennsylvania newspaper the Tribune-Democrat arguing Sandusky’s innocence.
The author acknowledges that without the above researchers and writers, who all preceded him in this investigation, he would not have been able to conceivably attempt to investigate the conviction of Jerry Sandusky.
