STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — After having its reputation tarnished by a child sexual abuse scandal, Penn State wants to become a national leader in researching and preventing such abuse and sees a conference it’s hosting this weekend as a major step toward that goal.
Organizers of the three-day gathering called “Child Sexual Abuse Conference: Traumatic Impact, Prevention and Intervention,” hope the event sheds more light on a problem that gained national attention after former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on child sex abuse charges last November.
Utah kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart and retired boxing champ Sugar Ray Leonard, both of whom endured child sex abuse, are the featured speakers at a conference that also will include academic and clinical experts on child molestation and trauma.
