Paterno enjoyed, and cultivated, a reputation for moral rectitude. That's one reason the parallels to the Catholic Church are more than superficial.
Among the historic parallels tossed out here, the most apt one is Benedict Arnold. Arnold, renowned as a patriot, was found to be a traitor. Paterno, renowned as a man of great virtue, looks more and more like the opposite of that.
And while I think the "pimping" stories are likely nonsense, I do think we're only looking at the tip of the iceberg. We're going to learn a lot more, and it's only going to get worse for the principals.