Ex-Penn St. VP testifies former school president told him Sandusky incident was 'handled'
Former Penn State vice president Gary Schultz testified Wednesday that he believes he was told by former school president Graham Spanier that everything was taken care of regarding the report of a 2001 incident involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Sandusky, a former Penn State defensive coordinator, is currently serving what’s essentially a lifetime prison sentence for sexually abusing 10 young males. In 2001, former assistant coach Mike McQueary said he heard noises and witnessed Sandusky with a boy in the showers of Penn State’s football facility.
Spanier, who was forced out at Penn State after the allegations against Sandusky became public, is accused by prosecutors of failing to report the allegation to child services and is facing felony charges of child endangerment.
“I do recall kind of being informed that everything was handled,” Schultz, a former senior vice president for the school, testified during the second day of Spanier’s trial on child endangerment and conspiracy charges.
“Who told you that?” Chief Deputy Attorney General Laura Ditka asked.
“I can’t say for sure,” Schultz replied. “I think it was President Spanier.”
Both Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley testified Wednesday after entering plea deals earlier in the month. Both Schultz and Curley were given misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and their pleas turned them from co-defendants with Spanier to keys to the state’s case against their former boss.
Both Curley and Schultz await sentencing regarding their pleas. The three men were involved in the decision-making process after the 2001 incident, a process that began when McQueary told coach Joe Paterno about what he heard and saw. Paterno then relayed what McQueary reported to Schultz and Curley. Then Spanier was informed.
Curley testified in county court Wednesday morning and said he agreed to his plea deal because he felt he should have done more. He testified the three administrators kept the allegations within the school — the appropriate action at the time, he said — because they didn’t think they were dealing with allegations of a sexual nature. Sandusky was convicted of abusing more victims after McQueary’s report.
But, speaking for himself, he also suggested that the three former administrators took that course of action because they did not believe they were dealing with sexual or criminal activity.
Asked point-blank by Deputy Attorney General Patrick Schulte whether the version of events he heard about the 2001 shower incident from either eyewitness Mike McQueary or late Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno – who McQueary first reported to – was described as sexual activity, Curley said: “No sir.”
Paterno was fired in 2011 and died from lung cancer in 2012. In 2011, he testified McQueary reported to him that Sandusky was fondling a young boy and the activities were of a sexual nature.
In his time on the stand Wednesday afternoon, Schultz was asked about a 1998 investigation of sexual abuse by Sandusky, an investigation he said Spanier knew about. A “confidential” report from the investigation said Curley was supposed to meet with Sandusky regarding the topic and potentially report to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Neither of those two things happened.
Following the testimony of the two former school officials, the prosecution rested. The defense begins Thursday.
Sandusky was convicted on sexual abuse charges in 2012 and is serving a 30-60 year prison sentence. In addition to a near $50 million fine by the NCAA and penalties regarding the football program, the school has paid out nearly $100 million in settlements to people who said they were abused by Sandusky.
[Sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Baseball: Get in the game and join a league today]
– – – – – – –
Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
