Topics

More

We’re Going to Trial: All Charges Stick in Curley/Schultz/Spanier Preliminary Hearing

After two days of testimony, we’re officially going to trial.

Judge William Wenner ruled instantly after closing arguments this afternoon that all charges against Gary Schultz, Tim Curley, and Graham Spanier will stick. A trial date has not been set yet but is anticipated for the spring. Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel reports that legal experts think the contentious trial could last up to two months.

“It’s a tragic day for Penn State University for sure,” Judge Wenner said while making his ruling.

AG Investigator Anthony Sassano was the last witness to testify. He was one of the first investigators to interview Mike McQueary as part of the Sandusky investigation. The three attorneys attempted to paint a picture of coercion by the prosecution to get exaggerated statements by McQueary to make for a better case against Sandusky. Curley’s co-counsel Brian Perry asked Sassano to explain why Sandusky was acquitted of deviate sexual intercourse in the McQueary victim case in an intense line of questioning that had to be interrupted by Wenner.

“From Day one, Mike McQueary never said he saw penetration,” Sassano said. “He said he saw Jerry Sandusky behind a boy in a position he believed was penetration. They only way we would know is if the victim came forward or McQueary saw it.”

Perry wasn’t the only attorney to go after McQueary’s testimony. Spanier’s attorney Elizabeth Ainslie put it bluntly in her closing remarks.

“I believe Mike McQueary is making it up as he goes along,” Ainslie said, arguing that McQueary’s uncorroborated and inconsistent testimony is the only evidence against her client. “But in the end, he says nothing about Dr. Spanier. The evidence against Dr. Spanier is all innuendos and farfetched inferences.”

Curley’s attorney Caroline Roberto had similar sentiments.

“We heard really nothing out of the ordinary from McQueary when he took the witness stand. Except we did hear some embellishment like we always do,” Roberto said during closing statements. “I really don’t know what foundation the prosecution is proceeding on.”

Ultimately, conviction probably rests on whether the prosecution can prove the three former administrators intentionally and knowingly failed to report child sexual abuse, rather than just honest negligence.  As Gary Schultz’s lawyer Tom Farrell put it, “There’s a difference between failing to make a report and interfering to make a report.”

Your ad blocker is on.

Please choose an option below.

Sign up for our e-mail newsletter:
OR
Support quality journalism:
Purchase a Subscription!

About the Author

Kevin Horne

Kevin Horne was the editor of Onward State from 2012-2014 and currently holds the position of Managing Editor Emeritus, which is a fake title he made up. He graduated from Penn State with degrees journalism and political science in 2014 and is currently seeking his J.D. at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. A third generation Penn Stater from Williamsport, Pa., Kevin is also the president of the graduate student government. Email: [email protected]

‘I’m Lucky To Have The People Around Me’: Katie Schumacher-Cawley Battles To Lead Penn State Women’s Volleyball To National Title

Schumacher-Cawley became the second head coach in Penn State history to win an NCAA Championship.

[Photo Story] Penn State vs. SMU

Our photographers were on the scene to capture Pen State’s first College Football Playoff win.

Build The Katie Schumacher-Cawley Statue: An Open Letter To Penn State

“If, and when, [a statue] is placed outside of Rec Hall, students who walk past can be brought hope just like she gave to her players.”

113kFollowers
164kFollowers
63.1kFollowers
4,570Subscribers
Sign up for our Newsletter
Other posts by Kevin

Hometown Brewery Releases Beer Honoring Evan Pugh

Penn State’s first president Evan Pugh was born in 1828 at Jordan Bank Farm, three miles south of the city center of Oxford, Pennsylvania, an hour west of Philadelphia in Chester County. One-hundred eighty-nine years later, an Oxford brewery is honoring one of the preeminent champions of “liberal and practical” higher education in the form of a delicious Porter.

Penn State Basketball Downs Colgate 72-59 In Front of Thanksgiving Eve Crowd

Why Honoring Paterno Still Matters