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Curley and Schultz Charged, JoePa Comments

All of those days where we could gloat about our integrity could seemingly be gone.

This morning, news broke that Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, vice president for finance and business, were charged with perjury and failure to report in an investigation into allegations that former football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused eight young men.

Via Yahoo, Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly called Sandusky, “a sexual predator who used his position within the university and community to repeatedly prey on young boys.”

Via ESPN, Curley and Schultz are each charged with one count of perjury, a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, and a $15,000 fine, and one count of failure to report.

The good news is, Joe Paterno didn’t hide this. He reportedly “testified before a grand jury that he immediately called Curley and met with the AD the following day.”

Jim Tressel covered up tattoos, Curley covered up sexual abuse. Big difference.

So what does all this mean?

This means that there is a very real chance that, if proven guilty, Tim Curley could face jail time and, in turn, lose his AD job. This episode has done much to tarnish Penn State’s sterling reputation of integrity, and it’s just beginning.

Stay tuned to Onward State for the impending updates.

UPDATE: 12:51 p.m.

Graham Spanier has released a statement regarding the allegations.

The allegations about a former coach are troubling, and it is appropriate that they be investigated thoroughly. Protecting children requires the utmost vigilance.

With regard to the other presentments, I wish to say that Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have my unconditional support. I have known and worked daily with Tim and Gary for more than 16 years. I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former University employee.

Tim Curley and Gary Schultz operate at the highest levels of honesty, integrity and compassion. I am confident the record will show that these charges are groundless and that they conducted themselves professionally and appropriately.

UPDATE: 1:18 p.m.

According to the Harrisburg Patriot-News, Joe Paterno will not be charged with any crimes related to the Sandusky investigation, and will in fact appear in court as a witness for the prosecution.

The sources said the deputy state prosecutor handling the case said that Paterno did the right thing, and handled himself appropriately in 2002 and during the three-year investigation that ended Friday.

UPDATE: 1:32 p.m.

A Pennsylvania grand jury has released a 23-page document summarizing its findings, and, if even some of the allegations are true, this could do down in the annals as a very dark day for Penn State athletics and the University as a whole.

“It was within The Second Mile program that Sandusky found his victims,” the state claims, describing the charity, which aimed to help “troubled boys,” as a means for Sandusky to engage in pedophilia.

“Through The Second Mile, Sandusky had access to hundreds of boys, many of whom were vulnerable due to their social situations,” it further says.

The report also goes into often graphic detail regarding the nature of the alleged abuses.

More important, from a Penn State perspective, is a discussion of events which allegedly occurred in 2002. A graduate assistant for the Penn State football program testified that he saw Sandusky engage in inappropriate activities in the locker room of the Lasch Football Building.

“He saw a naked boy…whose age he estimated to be 10 years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky.”

The graduate assistant went first to Joe Paterno, according to the grand jury report, who was also asked to testify during the investigation. Paterno told the grand jury that, the very next day, he told Tim Curley, his immediate supervisor, what the graduate assistant had told him. According to the report, in a meeting a week-and-a-half later, Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business met with the graduate assistant—Paterno was not present—to “look into it and determine what further action they would take.”

In Curley’s testimony to the grand jury, he said that the graduate assistant had not told him that Sandusky had engaged in anal sex, allegedly terming the conduct as “horsing around,” and repeatedly denying that he was aware of any sexual conduct, a sentiment echoed in Schultz’s testimony.

Of note is another event, which allegedly occurred in 1998, while Sandusky was still a coach at Penn State. Like the 2002 incident, this allegedly involved inappropriate conduct inside the football showers. Schultz testified that the 1998 case had been referred to University Police and the “child protection agency.”

The grand jury describes the action taken by Penn State as “ban[ning] Sandusky from bringing children into the football locker room,” and advising The Second Mile of the incident. “Schultz said there was never any discussion between himself and Curley about turning the 2002 incident over to any police agency.”

Graham Spanier, who testified that he signed off on the response, testified that Curley and Schultz reported the incident to him, but that he was not told that it was “sexual in nature.”

It was out of the alleged 2002 events that the charge of “failure to report” was handed down, and the Grand Jury found that both Curley and Schultz had made “materially false statements under oath” in their testimonies.”

Penn State’s involvement doesn’t end there. The Grand Jury reports that another alleged victim of Sandusky’s traveled to bowl games with the team, both the 1998 Outback Bowl and the 1999 Alamo Bowl, listed as “a member of Sandusky’s family party.” According to the grand jury, he was “in a video made about linebackers that featured Sandusky and he appeared with him in a photo accompanying  an article about Sandusky in Sports Illustrated.”

“Sandusky even guaranteed Victim 4 that he could be a walk-on football player at Penn State,” the report says.

That victim also testified that sexual conduct between him and Sandusky occurred in the sauna at the Lasch facility.

The 1998 incident is also described at length in the grand jury report, which allegedly involved Sandusky showering naked with an 11-year-old child in Holuba Hall, the predecessor to the Lasch Football Building. That incident was investigated by University Police, but then-District Attorney Ray Gricar declined to press charges. Sandusky was reportedly confronted by the alleged victim’s mother, and, after promising never to shower with a boy again, reportedly said, “I understand. I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won’t get it from you. I wish I were dead.”

Throughout its discussion of numerous incidents, the grand jury describes a clear pattern by which a number of Sandusky’s alleged victims were given special access to the Penn State football program, including attending games and going on the field, even attending coaches’ meetings.

We will continue to update this story as more information is made available to us.

UPDATE: 1:38 p.m.

Penn State University has released statements made by the lawyers of both Tim Curley and Gary Schultz.

Penn State has heard from the attorneys representing both Tim Curly and Gary Schultz. They have released the following statements:

Attorney Tom Farrell:

“Gary Schultz is innocent of all charges. We believe in the legal system, and we believe it will vindicate him. We will fight these charges in court, and Gary Schultz will be proven innocent of all of them.”

Attorney Caroline Roberto:

“Tim Curley is innocent of all charges against him. We will vigorously challeng[e] the charges in court, and we are confident he will be exonerated.”

UPDATE: 12:05 p.m., Sunday

Penn State has responded to the allegations by banning Jerry Sandusky, who is currently out on $100,000 bail, from stepping foot on campus. According to reports, the university will also be paying the legal fees for both Tim Curley and Gary Schultz.

UPDATE: 5:41 p.m. Joe Paterno has released a statement.

If true, the nature and amount of charges made are very shocking to me and all Penn Staters. While I did what I was supposed to with the one charge brought to my attention, like anyone else involved I can’t help but be deeply saddened these matters are alleged to have occurred.

Sue and I have devoted our lives to helping young people reach their potential. The fact that someone we thought we knew might have harmed young people to this extent is deeply troubling. If this is true we were all fooled, along with scores of professionals trained in such things, and we grieve for the victims and their families. They are in our prayers.

As my grand jury testimony stated, I was informed in 2002 by an assistant coach that he had witnessed an incident in the shower of our locker room facility. It was obvious that the witness was distraught over what he saw, but he at no time related to me the very specific actions contained in the Grand Jury report. Regardless, it was clear that the witness saw something inappropriate involving Mr. Sandusky. As Coach Sandusky was retired from our coaching staff at that time, I referred the matter to university administrators.

I understand that people are upset and angry, but let’s be fair and let the legal process unfold. In the meantime I would ask all Penn Staters to continue to trust in what that name represents, continue to pursue their lives every day with high ideals and not let these events shake their beliefs nor who they are.

UPDATE: 6:29 p.m.

According to the Associated Press, the lawyers defending Tim Curley and Gary Schultz for their role in the alleged cover-up of Sandusky’s charges have begun to shape their defense. According to the lawyers, Schultz was not responsible for reporting the incident to the authorities.

The Pennsylvania law requiring some school officials and others to report suspected child abuse does not apply to a Penn State administrator who’s accused of keeping quiet about allegations that a former football coach molested a boy in a shower, the administrator’s attorney said Sunday.

The comments by Pittsburgh lawyer Thomas J. Farrell offer a preview of the defense he plans to use on the charge of failing to report faced by his client, Gary C. Schultz, the university’s senior vice president for finance and business. Farrell said he will seek to have the charge dismissed.

UPDATE: Monday, 11:10 a.m.

WNEP’s Stacy Lange reports that Curley and Schultz will be arraigned in Harrisburg at 2:00 this afternoon.

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About the Author

Ryan Beckler

Ryan is a senior in the Smeal College of Business majoring in Marketing. He is a Lion Ambassador who loves giving tours to prospective students. His favorite activities include distributing news and consuming Chipotle.

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