State College, PA

Some key records from Second Mile, the charity founded by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, are missing.

Investigators are worried that this could hinder their case and limit their ability to get all the details in the allegations that Sandusky engaged in sexual abuse of several young boys over several years.

The missing materials from 2000 to 2003 could show if Sandusky used resources at Second Mile, a charity for at risk children, to allegedly recruit new victims using perks, or buy their silence, according to reports from the New York Times.

The investigation into allegations against Sandusky floundered for years. Reports are that the abuse dates back to the 1970s.

A key to breaking the case was a random reference in an Internet chat room about Penn State Athletics that suggested that a football coach years earlier "might have seen something ugly, but kept silent," according to the Times article.

Investigators were able to narrow that reference down to Mike McQueary, a Penn State coach and graduate student, who allegedly witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year old boy in a shower at the school in 2002.

Penn State is a tight knit community, so the silence is not unusual.

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