Yeah, I don't think Paterno was sitting at home, twisting his mustache and muttering "hahaha, I'm enabling a child rapist!" I DO agree that he probably rationalized it (because that's how human beings fucking work) and hoped it would just go away. I can perfectly see the mindset of a person who rationalizes something like this because "if the truth got out, it would harm our reputation." I can even see this kind of mindset extending to pulling people into an office and telling them not to go to the police, if that is what happened.
But, see, none of that shit matters. I mean, the bottom line is this:
If you find out about a child molester and take steps to prevent stopping him from molesting children, it doesn't fucking matter who you are, what you did in the past, why you're doing it, or how much you rationalize your actions.