HARRISBURG — A judge ruled Tuesday afternoon that there is enough evidence to send three former Penn State administrators to trial on charges they covered up the university’s sex abuse scandal.
Defense attorneys had a lot to say about the witnesses’ testimony and the email evidence presented in court.
Over the course of two days we heard from eight witnesses, saw numerous emails, and now the case against Tim Curley, Gary Schultz and Graham Spanier is headed to trial.
Defense attorneys claim the three men are innocent and plan to fight the charges at trial.
Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz and Tim Curley were once the people in charge at Penn State University. Now the three men may be tried in Dauphin County court for allegedly lying about and covering up child sex abuse at the hands of former coach Jerry Sandusky.
On day two of the hearing, prosecutors showed a 2001 bill from a law firm where Gary Schultz got legal advice about a report of suspected child abuse.
That was two days after Mike McQueary testified he saw Sandusky abusing a boy in a Penn State locker room shower and one day after McQueary says he told Coach Joe Paterno, who relayed the information to Curley and Schultz.
“The fact is, if the lawyer had told Mr. Schultz, this is something that needs to be reported to the police. Mr. Schultz would have reported it to the police,” said Schultz’s attorney Tom Farrell.
What followed was a series of emails between the three men. Prosecutors say this showed that the three conspired to keep Sandusky’s crimes under wraps.
“They wanted this to go a certain way. And if that’s to keep out the police, the Department of Welfare or Children and Youth, that’s what they were going to do,” said Bruce Beemer who is prosecuting the case for the attorney general’s office.
In fact, one email sent by Graham Spanier shows the former PSU president said “the only downside for us is if the message isn’t ‘heard’ and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it.”
Defense attorneys, however, claim the emails don’t tell the whole story.
“We maintain that Dr. Spanier is innocent of all the charges that have been brought against him. We look forward and he looks forward to the opportunity to demonstrate that for all,” said Spanier’s attorney Tim Lewis.
Defense attorneys also blasted Mike McQueary for his testimony saying he’s making it up as he goes along.
The magistrate in this case said this is a tragic day for Penn State University.
All three former Penn State administrators could face trial as soon as the beginning of next year.
