The state attorney general's office said a file created by a former Penn State University official facing trial for perjury documents incidents related to Jerry Sandusky and belies the administrator's grand jury testimony that he knew little about the sexual abuse allegations against the former assistant football coach.
The recently obtained documents add to a mounting body of evidence that Gary Schultz, the former interim senior vice president for finance and business, and Tim Curley, on leave from his position as athletic director, lied under oath, the attorney general's office said in a court filing Monday.
Mr. Schultz, 62, and Mr. Curley, 58, are both charged with perjury and failing to report abuse allegations. Prosecutors said the two failed to tell local authorities after Mike McQueary, then a graduate student, reported witnessing Mr. Sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in a locker room shower in 2001. Prosecutors also noted the pair then repeatedly lied about it to the grand jury, saying Mr. McQueary downplayed the incident to them and did not tell them what he witnessed was sexual.
Monday's court brief was in response to a motion filed by Mr. Schultz's attorney asking the court to dismiss the perjury charge. In the motion, filed May 4, Mr. Schultz's attorney, Tom Farrell, argued that prosecutors had not provided them with adequate information about the statements they alleged were false, violating "the requirement that ... the defendant be given fair notice of the charge he must answer."
PG VIDEOIn an aggressive retort, state Attorney General Linda Kelly was dismissive of Mr. Schultz's arguments, calling them "spurious."
"Schultz now complains ... despite having received the information that he demanded, the Commonwealth has alleged too many lies and he cannot defend against the allegations," the AG's office said in its brief.
According to the court filing, the attorney general's office recently obtained additional evidence that contradicts Mr. Schultz's testimony before the grand jury.
"As an example, the Grand Jury long ago subpoenaed any evidence possessed by PSU relating to Sandusky, his employment with PSU, and any investigation of his criminal conduct. Only recently was the Commonwealth provided with a file containing documents relating to incidents involving Sandusky. This file was created, maintained, and possessed by Schultz," the brief said. "Documents in that file are inconsistent with statements by Schultz and his codefendant, Curley, to the Grand Jury."
Further, the attorney general's office describes an email exchange that also contradicts Mr. Schultz's statements to the grand jury.
"Also, the Commonwealth has come into possession of computer data (again, subpoenaed long ago but not received from PSU until after the charges had been filed in this case) in the form of emails between Schultz, Curley and others that contradict their testimony before the Grand Jury," read the brief.
PG VIDEOPenn State said in a statement that it had "responded to several subpoenas and gathered documents from many sources across the institution," but did not explain the apparent delay.
Mr. Farrell noted that Mr. Schultz left his files behind for anyone in his office to see when he retired. Mr. Curley's attorney, Caroline Roberto, could not be reached for comment.
On Monday, former FBI Chief Louis Freeh, whose law firm was hired by a university task force to conduct an independent investigation, issued a statement saying he had recently turned over copies of emails exchanged by Mr. Schultz, Mr. Curley and former Penn State President Graham Spanier in which they discuss whether to tell local authorities about the shower incident. They ultimately decided not to, though it's unclear if Mr. Spanier knew of the full extent of what Mr. McQueary witnessed.
First Published: June 13, 2012, 8:00 a.m.
Updated: June 13, 2012, 1:55 p.m.
