Dana Jacobson, Ex-ESPN Anchor, Admits to Child Molestation

In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky verdict, former ESPN anchor Dana Jacobson has come out and admitted to her own personal nightmare: she was sexually abused as a child.

Jacobson, who left ESPN in April when her contract expired, said in a blog entry this week that she was inspired to speak out after learning from the Sandusky scandal that “the time for silence is over.”

“It was inappropriate touching, fondling of genitalia,” Jacobson wrote of her experience with a male babysitter many years ago. “It may not have been as frequent or severe as what I read about in the case of Sandusky’s victims, but that doesn’t make the abuse I suffered any less real or the shame I felt any less overwhelming.”

Jacobson says there were two incidents in particular and she was unable to fully acknowledge them until she was well into her 20s.

“I’ve learned that each time I tell my story, I let go of some of the shame and guilt I’ve carried with me for years,” she writes. “Those feelings so deeply buried at times they seem never ending. So truth be told, my sharing right now is really just a part of that long road to recovery I mentioned earlier, the one Jerry Sandusky’s victims are just beginning. 

“I’d like to thank them for helping me take this latest step, finding my voice. I hope by doing so, I can help others find theirs.”