There Is a Special Place In Hell For Those Who Violate Children

As we argue about whether the most successful coach in American college football history should have done more ... or how a 28-year-old grad student assistant could witness a 10-year-old being raped and simply walk away or how Penn State can survive the financial tornado about to shake its very foundation, I think about the horrors suffered by 8 boys already disadvantaged by the cards life dealt them. Boys targeted specifically because of their misfortune. Lacking in social and economic support -- at risk kids from broken homes and foster care who wanted nothing more than a chance at happiness, a new pair of sneakers, a walk on the sidelines of a big game.

Pedophiles insinuate themselves into the lives of the voiceless, they walk among us as pillars of the community masking the evil within.

Make no mistake. The number is not eight. It's more like 80 or 800.

I know. -- I prosecuted these cases for 30 years.

What of these victims? The one in the shower who knew an adult saw his rape but didn't lift a finger to protect or defend him and walked away.

He, like the other victims, will forever look at the world through the prism of that one singularly traumatic event.

Every future intimacy will be affected by the indelible memory of their predator -- a trusted member of the community.

There is a special place in hell for those who violate children.

I don't see any shades of gray here.

It's about right and wrong. Good and evil.

I don't care much about the stories tradition of a football hero.

I care about children who knew that we knew and that we did nothing.

Joe, you were right. You said, "Pray for the victims." And while you're at it, Joe, you should say a prayer for yourself.

Judge Jeanine Pirro is the host of "Justice with Judge Jeanine" which airs Saturday evenings at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel.  She is a former County Court Judge and District Attorney of Westchester County, New York .