Ex-ESPN Personality Dana Jacobson: ‘I Was Molested As A Child’
Ex-ESPN personality Dana Jacobson has stepped out revealing to readers in her blog that she faced sexual abuse as a child, in which she writes about drawing strength from testimony during the Jerry Sandusky trial to help her come out about the issue, reports USA Today.
This news comes only days after Jerry Sandusky was found guilty in 45 out of 48 counts of child sex abuse.
Dana writes in her blog:
“Like the young men who bravely took the stand in the Sandusky trial, I was molested as a child,” Jacobson wrote Monday on her blog.
“That’s still not easy for me to say, let alone write and share publicly, but if we’ve all learned anything from the Sandusky scandal, it’s that the time for silence is over. As I heard one Sandusky victim put it, it’s time to ‘find my voice,'” she writes.
“It was something I couldn’t do when I was molested. I didn’t speak out, no matter how many chances I may have had. I just couldn’t. Travis Weaver, one of the young men who testified in front of the grand jury in the Sandusky case but not at trial did an interview which aired on Rock Center last week. He said he was scared to say anything because he thought no one would believe him. I know that feeling.”
“That’s what these monsters count on, our silence. They have the power and they know it.”
Dana Jacobson went on to reveal in her blog that it was a teenage baby-sitter that was responsible for molesting her as a child.
“I had been told to obey him, like any other babysitter or authority figure. Forget the shame, fear, and overwhelming confusion that went along with the sexual abuse, we both knew that he was the one in charge. Is it any wonder my silence came so easily?” she wrote.
NY Daily reports that Jacobson has served as an anchor for ESPN for the past 10 years until her contract recently expired this past April.
She went on to thank her followers on Twitter for their comments and support, saying:
“This can happen to anyone but it doesn’t define you as a person.”
