Graham Spanier, the former Penn State University president, has been charged with ignoring Jerry Sandusky's crime of child abuse despite being made aware of it.
Jerry Sandusky -- former assistant football coach -- was sentenced to 60 years in prison after he was found guilty of sexually abusing 10 young boys. Sandusky however, maintains his innocence.
According to an independent report by Louis Freeh, the former FBI chief, as many as four former university officials had been made aware of Sandusky's abuse, but chose to ignore it completely. The officials in question are Spanier, Joe Paterno - the former head coach, Gary Schultz - the vice president and Tim Curley - the athletic director.
State Attorney General Linda Kelly said: "This was not a mistake by these men. This was not an oversight. It was not misjudgment on their part. This was a conspiracy of silence by top officials to actively conceal the truth."
Spanier's lawyers, meanwhile, have asserted their client was innocent and that Gov. Tom Corbett was trying to frame him in an attempt to divert attention from the three year investigation.
Spanier's four defense lawyers wrote: "These charges are the work of a vindictive and politically motivated governor working through an unelected attorney general ... whom he appointed to do his bidding."
Corbett's spokesman Kevin Harley said in reply: "The defense statement sounds like the ranting of a desperate man who just got indicted."
Caroline Roberto, Curley's lawyer, maintained Curley was innocent. Even Schultz's lawyer said he was innocent.
"All three men knowingly testified falsely and failed to provide important information and evidence," Kelly said. "They essentially turned a blind eye to the serial predatory acts committed by Jerry Sandusky."
Charges against Spanier include endangering the welfare of children, failure to properly report suspected abuse, conspiracy, obstruction and perjury.
The trial for Curley, 58, and Schultz, 63, is set for early January in Harrisburg. They were charged a year ago with failing to report the child abuse and lying to the grand jury. Prosecutors alleged that all three Spanier, Schultz and Curley knew of complaints against Sandusky showering with boys in 1998 and 2001 but all three turned a blind eye.
"The continued cover-up of this incident and the ongoing failure to report placed every minor child who would come into contact with Sandusky in the future in grave jeopardy of being abused," the jury report read.
Meanwhile, Kelly said of Paterno, who died of lung cancer in January: "Mr. Paterno is deceased. The defendants who have been charged in this case are Curley, Schultz and Spanier, and I'm not going to speculate or comment on Mr. Paterno's relationship to this investigation."
Paterno had maintained he was unaware of the complaint in 1998. The email traffic, however, indicates he was very much in the loop.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
