Sandusky 'Victim 1' psychologist loses county job

• Michael Gillum co-wrote %27Silent No More%27 with Aaron Fisher and Dawn Hennessy
• Psychologist was notified in February that his contract with Clinton County%2C Pa.%2C would not be renewed
• Gillum says he had clearance to work on the book project

LOCK HAVEN, PA. — Nearly two years after Aaron Fisher's allegations of abuse against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky were first made public, the high school leadership at Central Mountain High School remains largely the same. But the status of one central figure at the school where Sandusky served as a volunteer football coach and where the allegations against him surfaced has changed dramatically.

Michael Gillum, the Clinton County psychologist who counseled Fisher and guided him through a nearly four-year ordeal that ended with Sandusky's conviction, was notified earlier this year that his contract with Children and Youth Services would not be renewed.

The first hint that his job was in jeopardy, Gillum said, came last November when his supervisor, Gerald Rosamilia, said the psychologist would have to end his activities related to a book he co-authored with Fisher and his mother, including speaking engagements, or have his contract "terminated."

Gillum, who in the book and in interviews has been sharply critical of the school's response in the Sandusky case, said he was "shocked" by the news. He said he had sought — and received — approval from Rosamilia before starting the book, which was published last year.

Rosamilia declined to comment. Gillum said he believes the ultimatum, which he refused, was prompted by an inquiry from the local newspaper, The Express, to Rosamilia and other county officials, requesting information about the book project, his compensation and whether the project amounted to a conflict of interest. According to a copy of the county's response, officials said Gillum worked on the book, Silent No More, "on his own time with the necessary and appropriate clearances."

Some weeks after Gillum said he consulted a lawyer about the demand that he sever ties with the book project, the psychologist said Rosamilia came back with a "surprising'' offer of full-time employment with the county that would allow him to maintain his private practice and activities related to the book.

In February, Gillum said he learned just as abruptly that the county was "going in a different direction" and his contract would not be renewed. Gillum, who was honored last year by the Pennsylvania Psychological Association for his work on the Sandusky case, said the matter still hasn't been fully explained to him.

"My analysis is that they were not very happy with my criticism of the school," he said. "Nothing really has changed there."