Attorney General addresses Penn State's Sandusky scandal
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HARRISBURG -- Speaking publicly for the first time since her office announced charges against three high-ranking Penn State officials in a case centered around the sexual abuse of children, Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly drew a distinction between the university's football coach and its president.
Ms. Kelly fielded questions today about what responsibility university president Graham Spanier and head football coach Joe Paterno bear for charges that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulted at least eight children and accusations that two administrators failed to report the incidents to law enforcement.
Ms. Kelly described Mr. Paterno, who was told of at least one incident by a graduate assistant, as being "cooperative" with prosecutors. He is not viewed as a target at this point, she said.
"Mr. Paterno has been interviewed by the investigators -- you can see that he has testified in the grand jury, that he reported this to individuals in the administration ... as far as what occurred that night," Ms. Kelly said.
She added: "We believe that under the statute he had a responsibility to report it to school administrators, and he did that."
Similar inquires about the fate of Penn State's president, who according to prosecutors and the grand jury presentment approved of a decision by athletic director Tim Curley and former senior vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz to ban Mr. Sandusky from using university facilities, garnered only a brief response.
"This is an on-going continuing investigation," Ms. Kelly said.
Ms. Kelly urged anyone with information regarding this investigation to contact investigators from the Office of Attorney General at 814-863-1053 or Pennsylvania State Police at 814-470-2238.
Less than an hour later, Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz were arraigned in Dauphin County on charges of perjury and failing to report an assault on campus of one boy after being told about it by Mr. Paterno, who heard about it from a graduate assistant in 2002. That assault occurred in a locker room shower, according to the grand jury presentment.
First Published November 7, 2011 3:51 pm
