It is now exactly one year to the day that Jerry Sandusky was arrested and charged with 40 counts of child sexual abuse. The arrest kicked off the one year that we at Penn State would like to forget most of all. The scandal devastated us, as the school and its symbols we thought we knew seemed to unravel. But I think I've learned more in the past year than perhaps any other.
Exactly one year ago, the Penn State community entered into a whirlwind of shock, confusion, tragedy, and eventually the first seedlings of healing. The images are still fresh in our mind from all these emotions, and will no doubt continue to be as the community moves forward.
If you recall, there were four men mentioned by Louis Freeh and his team as being at fault for endangering children: Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz, Tim Curley, and of course, the late Joe Paterno. Charges have been filed against the three living men that were perpetrators in the eyes of Louis Freeh, so I have to wonder if Joe Paterno would be in Spanier's shoes today.
Lawyers on behalf of Graham Spanier released a poignant statement blasting Governor Corbett and calling the new charges against Spanier politically motivated and unfounded.
Shortly after Spanier was charged with eight counts relating to perjury and endangering the welfare of children, Penn State released a statement that mentions Graham Spanier's future with the University.
Graham Spanier wasn't the only former Penn State administrator charged with crimes relating to the Sandusky scandal today. Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, two men who are already facing pre-existing perjury and failure to report charges, now face six additional charges, including four felonies.