The FACT! is that Joe knew about 1998. In light of that, the whole "the ginger wasn't clear" defense falls completely apart. At the bare minimum, Paterno knew about the 1998 investigation, and regardless of its outcome, he would have known exactly what McQueary was talking about regardless of how nervous the ginger was, what his choice of words were or to what degree he might have soft pedaled what he witnesssed.
If I'm the ginger, I would really think about getting the [censored] out of Central PA. He's becoming a focal point for the craziest elements of the cult, and that is not going to turn out well.