the grand jury he was not the first victim. he started the landslide that brought down sandusky, brought down head coach joe paterno, brought down penn state's president, the senior vice president for finance and business, and the school's athletic director. he's a brave kid, his mother says, but tonight he is afraid. afraid, she says, that people might find out who he is. afraid he might run into jerry sandusky, who is out on bail. afraid that sandusky might find -- might ultimately go free. but that's not all she's saying tonight. she's also describing to us the pressures she faced from people who tried to get her not to go to police. pressure from community members, from teachers she says, from people she trusted to put kids first and not defend jerry sandusky. you're going to hear more of her story in just a moment from her own mouth. also tonight, john walsh joins us from "america's most wanted." first, though, the shifting account of this man, penn state's wide receivers coach, mike mcqueary, a graduate assistant back in 2002. that's when he says he walked in on jerry sandusky raping a 10 or 11-year-old boy in an athletic building shower. according to the grand jury report, "went to his office and called his father, reporting to him what he'd seen." talking about mcqueary. then the next day, a saturday, he told joe paterno. about a week and a half later, according to the grand jury report, mcqueary was debriefed by athletic director tim curley and gary schultz, penn state's senior vice president for finance and business. schultz, by the way, also oversaw the university police. now, there's no mention in the 23-page report that mcqueary ever contacted campus police or any law enforcement. nor is there any mention that he tried to stop the rape or protect the children. yet now in an e-mail he sent former penn state teammates mcqueary is claiming he did both. "i did stop it," he writes. "not physically but made sure it was stopped when i left that locker room." in the e-mail, which was obtained by allentown's "morning call" newspaper, he goes on to claim, "i did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police." yet not only is there no mention of that in the grand jury documents, cnn contributor sara ganim reports her newspaper, the "patriot news," has seen a copy of mcqueary's handwritten account of events which he made for police in connection with the grand jury investigation. she verified it with a source close to that investigation. that handwritten account is consistent with the grand jury's report. in it mcqueary makes no mention of intervening during the alleged rape or talking to any police officers in the days that followed. what's more, a university spokesman tells the "morning call" they have no record of mcqueary filing a police report at that time. that of course raises questions about his credibility. but it also raises much bigger credibility questions about top penn state officials and the university's lack of believability, lack of transparency, and lack of accountability. for starters, the judge with connections to jerry sandusky's charity, today she was dealt with. she was replaced. but that's a pretty symbolic and small step all things considered. why. this is important. now that we're 11 days into this story and some of the details may be getting hard to follow. if the allegations against sandusky are true, at least, at least seven children were sexually abused after the first reported incident. seven children since the first time university officials were told about it. and for reasons not entirely clear chose to look away. now, we're going to keep asking questions on this until those reasons get clear. yesterday our drew griffin went looking for answers. he didn't get a lot of cooperation. he joins us now from state college. drew, what did you find out today? >> reporter: you know, anderson, yesterday we told you about this exemption that penn state has. they don't have to release documents, which are usually public just about everywhere else in the united states of america. so today we went looking for the people, those officials who should have, would have, and most likely did know about the allegations against sandusky way back. the three officials in particular, former university president graham spanier, the former university counsel, a guy by the name of wendal courtney, and the former police chief, whose name is tom hartman. way back in 1998 these three people, according to the grand jury, most likely did know about the allegations that that mother was bringing forward, that sandusky was showering naked with her son. and in fact a police investigation was launched, but that former police chief decided, according to the grand jury report, to abruptly end the investigation. we went looking for him today. he works at an architectural and engineering firm now, which has an office not far from where i'm standing. this company does a lot of business with penn state university. this is what happened when we went inside trying to find him. >> is mr. harmon in? >> he is not. >> he's not in? >> he works out of his office. he works out of his home. >> he works out of his home. >> yeah. >> does he have an office number? i mean, a number that if someone at this office -- >> we can't provide that information. sorry. >> reporter: you can't provide that information? >> no. no. >> reporter: via e-mail, tom harmon did eventually get back to us. this is what he said, not much, he just cannot discuss this matter, citing an ongoing investigation. we did go to his home, by the way. neighbors say, anderson, he moved. >> did you also try to speak to the legal counsel for penn state who held that position during the 1998 investigation? did you talk to him? >> reporter: tried. wendell courtney, private lawyer now in town. he was university counsel in 1998 when these allegations surfaced. he actually gave a blessing for that initial investigation into sandusky. oddly enough, he went on to become the attorney for the second mile foundation, jerry sandusky's charity. we did go to his office. we walked right through the front door, asked to see him. he was in. but he wouldn't come out. instead he sent out an attorney out and that attorney basically told us to get off the property, they would not talk to us. and just we also did try to talk to the current police chief. that was yesterday. this is the current police chief of the university. take a look at this. >> reporter: is the chief in? >> i'm not sure. turn the camera off. >> reporter: turn the camera off, right? we didn't turn the camera off. we sat there for about an hour. we were told then the chief would come out and talk to us. he didn't. he was behind the counter talking to us via cell phone. i was trying to ask him questions. take a look. he wouldn't answer any single question i gave him. >> are you concerned at all that -- that -- that members of your department may have helped cover this thing up? >> reporter: again, no answer from the current police chief, from the former police chief. this is all because, as we reported last night, penn state has an exemption. they don't have to tell us a thing, anderson. >> an exemption that they lobbied for at the state. there were other agencies involved here, including the pennsylvania department of child welfare. is there no one talking there either? >> reporter: yeah. we've tried to track down all these various people. the investigator in 1998, a guy named jerry lauro, he was working for protective services, he reached out to me. this is what he said in a text message, anderson. "i am sorry, i cannot say anymore as i am bound by confidentiality. good luck with your investigation." and then this. "please do not contact me again." i should also mention, anderson, we tried to track down the former university president. he still lives in the president's mansion here at the university. private road, private residence. we've left two messages. we've asked the university why he still lives here. we just are not getting any answers. >> drew, keep at it. appreciate it. thanks very much, drew. now victim 1's story. you know, i do think it's important in all of the coverage of this not to lose sight of the victims here, the alleged victims, the people that we know about, stories that more people may be coming forward. but as of now, eight victims, alleged victims, identified by the grand jury report. victim number 1 was 11 or 12 when he met jerry sandusky, may have been 10, through the second mile program. according to the grand jury, sandusky took the boy to pro, college sport events, gave him gifts including golf clubs, a computer, invited him to his house for sleep-overs. that's when the grand jury report details the alleged abuse, sandusky getting into bed with the boy, saying he was going to crack his back and then fondling him, eventually having oral sex with him numerous times. there were other alleged incidents at the high school where so-called victim one was a freshman and sandusky volunteered on the football coaching staff. so he was volunteering on the coaching staff of this young man's high school -- or middle school. i spoke with the young man's mom a short time ago. we've altered her voice because as we mentioned at the top both she and her son say they're living in fear. >> how are you? how are your son doing? >> well, we're doing okay, i mean, i guess as well as can be expected. i don't know. >> i understand your son heard jerry sandusky's interview on nbc on monday night. what was his reaction? >> he was upset. he was very upset about it. he said -- i didn't watch it -- i watched it when it was on, and he watched it after that. and he said that -- he cried, and i said, why are you crying? he said, because i'm afraid he might go free. >> he's afraid that sandusky might go free? >> yeah. >> what was your reaction to it? >> i thought it made him look worse. >> does it make any sense to you at all when he says that he was showering naked with boys, that he -- it was just horseplay? >> no. no. i don't think that showering naked with any little boy would be horseplay. >> i've read the grand jury testimony about what your son has said, testified happened. i mean, assuming it's all true, he's really a hero because had he not come forward and broken the silence we wouldn't know about all these other alleged victims. >> oh, he definitely is a hero. he definitely is. he's a brave kid. and he really, really -- you know, for a long time we thought -- he thought that he was the only one, you know? he thought that we were basically just on our own. and then as we -- as more victims came out and, you know, he started feeling a little bit better about that. but, you know, it's been -- >> explain -- i just want to play one of the things that sandusky said and get your reaction to it. >> are you a pedophile? >> no. >> are you sexually attracted to young boys? to underage boys? >> am i sexually attracted to underage boys? >> yes. >> sexually attracted? you know, i enjoy young people. i love to be around them. i -- i -- but no, i'm not sexually attracted to young boys. >> the answer to that question has raised a lot of eyebrows, just the way he answered it. what did you think of that? >> i think that -- i don't exactly know what to think about that other than, i mean, it seems to me that that's -- he's a sick individual. he's sick. he can't even -- i see it as him not even being able to straightforward answer the question. >> you think the straightforward answer would just be to say no, no, i'm not attracted to young boys. but he didn't do that. >> no. no. >> when did you start to realize something -- something was troubling your son? >> well, i guess it was a long haul of clues in his -- in his behavior. he went from like being a perfect 1-2-3 magic child to being ornery and being arrogant and mean. and we had a lot of different -- you know, we had disagreements. several times i asked the school to, you know, talk to him. and they had said, oh, he's just -- there's no man in my house. he's just trying to -- trying to stake his place in the world. he's just -- that's what teenagers do. but when he started withdrawing from -- he started asking me to lie to him when he called the house and things like that. >> after a while, he didn't want to see sandusky anymore and when sandusky would call he would say -- he would ask you to lie. he would ask you to say he wasn't around? >> yes. >> and that started -- that made you suspicious? >> yes, very suspicious. then out of the blue one day he was sitting at a computer and wanted to look up sex weirdos. >> he wanted to do a search about sex offenders, or sex weirdos, that's what he called them? >> yeah. he asked me what the website you get on to look them up was. and i told him it was megan's law. and he said, well, how do i type it in? i gave him the web address. he typed it in the computer. i said, who are you looking -- who are you looking for? he said, jerry. i kind of like -- i kind of froze. i was like, wow. what are you looking him up for? and he's like, i don't know. i just want to see if he's on there. i said, well, why would he be on there? do you have something to tell me? and he was like no. don't they put those kind of people on there? i said you need to tell me what's going on? he and he said that i don't know, sometime he just acts weird so i just wanted to see if he was on there that's all and he said i'm going outside and he went and played. and that was the end of that conversation. >> so he actually wanted to search under jerry sandusky's name on a site for sexual offenders? >> yeah. >> wow. >> yeah. so that was like the big clue to me. >> we're going to have more of my conversation after the break, including the lengths that she says sandusky went to to try to have access to her son. >> i never gave my permission for him to take my son out of class or to leave the school with my child, but he did. >> let us know what you think. we're on facebook, google plus as well. add us to your circle. or follow me on twitter @andersoncooper. i'll be tweeting some tonight. later our legal panel weighs in on mike mcqueary's credibility as a witness, joe paterno's story that he knew nothing about jerry sandusky's alleged transgressions until 2002, and a lot more. also john walsh of "america's most wanted" joins us. also a suspect in custody accused of opening fire on the white house. we'll have the latest of what we know on this man. the details ahead. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of a pain free holiday. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. [ buzzer ] getting a no contract htc wildfire s from virgin mobile for $199.99 at radioshack. so right. ♪ so right. ♪ sen♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ut the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪ before the break you heard from the mother of one of jerry sandusky's alleged victims, called victim 1 in the grand jury report. she talked about how she says her son first broached the possibility that something was very wrong and that sandusky was not what he seemed to be. now her antenna was up but as you'll hear her say nothing could prepare her or her son for what was yet to come. >> jerry was also volunteering at your son's school helping coach the football team. >> right. >> and he had a lot of privileges at the school, so he could call students actually out of class? >> i guess. i really think that without parental consent he shouldn't be able to do that. but i never gave permission for him to take my son out of class or to leave the school with my child. but he did. >> and how soon after your son said that he wanted to search for jerry's name on a sex offender list, how soon then did the story come out finally? >> i would say within a few days after that. >> do you know what jerry was doing when he called your son out of class? >> i have no idea. >> but he would meet with him? >> i guess, yeah. >> and finally, how did you learn what had happened? >> the school -- i called the school and i had brought it to their attention about jerry calling him out of class and things like that, and the school was -- they said, oh, well, you know, it's not uncommon for him to do that. and i said, okay, well, let's just look at this from an educational standpoint. because i had already talked to them prior to that and told them that i had a suspicion of something but i didn't want -- i didn't want to accuse anybody of anything. but i just -- something was off. and i said, you know, i told her, i said, i'm not going to accuse him of that because, you know, i just -- what i want you to do is i want you to end him taking him out of class, number one. and for number two, i want you to pull him down to the office and just ask him. just ask him how he feels. that's what i told them to do. >> and what happened when they did that? >> well, when they did, the principal had called me and -- in tears and she was crying, i could tell she was crying, and told me to get to the school right away. so i went to the school and met with the guidance counselor and the principal. and when i did, they told me that my son had said some things about -- that there was a problem with jerry and that he didn't know -- he didn't really admit anything at that point that was -- he just said he thought he needed to tell somebody or it would get worse. >> that's a really brave thing for him to have said. >> and then -- yeah, it is. and then the principal said, oh, you know, jerry has a heart of gold. >> the principal said that to you, that jerry has a heart of gold? >> yes. yes. and that -- and i said, listen -- i was very upset at this point. i was extremely upset. and i was basically yelling at them that they needed to call the police. i said, i want you to call the police. call children and youth. you know, i said call the police right now. and i said it like three times. call the police right now. and they said no. you need to think about -- they said i needed to think about the ramifications of what would happen if i did that. >> what do you think they meant by that? >> i don't know. i guess -- i'm assuming what we're going through now. i don't really know. >> what do you want to see happen to jerry sandusky? >> i want jerry sandusky to go to jail for the rest of his life. >> would that be justice? >> i don't even know, to tell you the truth. at this point i don't even know. >> i'm glad you were willing to talk and tell us what you've been through and your son as well. thank you. >> you're welcome. late this evening we got a response from the alleged victim's school system, the district's lawyer david lindsay saying he doesn't have time to respond to specific allegations but he did send the following statement. "due to the ongoing nature of the investigation and prosecution of jerry sandusky, it would be inappropriate for the keystone central school district to provide any comment in this regard at this time." the statement continues, "nonetheless, the keystone central school district has been and will continue to be fully cooperative with authorities in this matter." let's bring in our legal panel. senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin, mark geragos, and sunny hostin, legal contributor for "inside edition" on trutv. talking to this alleged victim's mom, i couldn't help wonder if her son had never come forward these allegations against sandusky could still be under wraps. >> i mean, it is just so astonishi