Two Penn State officials charged in connection with sex-abuse investigation

Two Penn State officials charged in connection with sex-abuse investigation
November 05, 2011
By Joe Juliano
INQUIRER

In a development that strikes very close to Joe Paterno's storied football program, Pennsylvania State University athletic director Tim Curley and another university official were charged Saturday with perjury related to a child sexual abuse investigation of longtime Nittany Lions assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office said Curley, 57, and Gary Schultz, 62, Penn State's senior vice president for finance and business, also were charged with failure to report, a summary offense. The perjury count is a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

The charges against Curley and Schultz, both of Boalsburg, Pa., stem from a three-year investigation of Sandusky, 67, who spent 32 years on Paterno's staff, 23 as defensive coordinator, before retiring after the 1999 season. Sandusky was arraigned Saturday in State College on 40 counts related to the sexual abuse case against him, and released on $100,000 bail.
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Paterno, in his 46th season as Penn State's head coach, will not be charged, authorities said.

In a four-page release, the Attorney General's Office said Paterno was informed by a graduate-assistant football coach in March 2002 that he had witnessed Sandusky allegedly involved in sexual activity with a boy in the showers of the Lasch Football Complex, where Sandusky maintained an office after his retirement.

"Paterno testified that he then called [Curley] and met with Curley the following day," the release said, "explaining that a graduate assistant had reported seeing Sandusky" involved in the activity.

Sources told the Harrisburg Patriot-News that prosecutors believe Paterno did the right thing. The newspaper also reported that Paterno will testify for the prosecution at Sandusky's trial.

Paterno, 84, the all-time winningest coach in Division I football, had no comment Saturday, athletic department spokesman Jeff Nelson said.

However, Paterno may not be completely in the clear. Twenty of the 40 counts filed against Sandusky, allegedly took place during the time he worked for Paterno, including three counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, a first-degree felony.

One accuser, now 27, testified that Sandusky initiated contact with a "soap battle" in the shower that led to multiple instances of involuntary sexual intercourse and indecent assault at Sandusky's hands, a grand jury report said.



Moral responsibility: Would a woman have handled the
Penn State child abuse allegations differently?
by Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
ajc
November 9, 2011

I keep trying to find the right words to write about the alleged child abuse by the former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. I have just been sick about it for days and keep writing draft and draft not expressing exactly what I want to say. But I feel like we should discuss it.

Michael and I lived in the Happy Valley for two years after we first were married. I worked for the local newspaper there as a reporter and an editor. Michael covered central Pennsylvania, including Penn State football, for the AP. We met Joe Paterno on many occasions. I personally talked with him multiple times at university dinners and cocktail parties. He was sweet and very much like a grandfather. I think because I have met many of the people involved in this case, it is even more shocking to me that they didn’t do more to stop this alleged abuse.

A lot is being written about the moral responsibility of Paterno and the other leaders of Penn State. I think the Pennsylvania state police Commissioner Frank Noonan said it best on Monday. While he agrees that Joe Paterno fulfilled his legal requirement when he relayed to university administrators that graduate assistant Mike McQueary had seen Sandusky attacking a young boy in the team’s locker room shower in 2002, the commissioner also questioned whether Paterno had a moral responsibility to do more.

“Somebody has to question about what I would consider the moral requirements for a human being that knows of sexual things that are taking place with a child,” Noonan said.

“I think you have the moral responsibility, anyone. Not whether you’re a football coach or a university president or the guy sweeping the building. I think you have a moral responsibility to call us.”

I think we all have a moral responsibility to watch out for the children around us – in our neighborhoods, in our schools, in our churches. We can’t turn our heads and hope the system handles it.

We need to use our intuition. (One administrator at a school had a bad feeling about
Sandusky and told him he couldn’t come back to his school.) We need to be observant. We need to ask questions. We need to step in if we see something, and we need to shout loudly if we think something even seems wrong.

I am struck by the similarities between the Penn State case and the Catholic
Church child abuse scandals. These are well-respected men. They are men reporting
to other men. You don’t hear any women’s names mentioned in the chain of command.

Would a woman have made different decisions? Would a woman have called the
police? Would a woman have immediately broken up what McQueary reportedly
testified he saw happening in the locker room shower – the alleged rape of a 10-
year-old boy?

I believe almost any woman would have immediately marched into that shower and
stopped it – even if it was her boss, her father, or someone she respected or
someone she feared.

I’m not trying to slam all men, and I think many men would have also handled things
differently. However, many men were involved and none called the police.