The Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal first broke six years ago in 2011 and today in 2017, two more people pled guilty for their role in the scandal: former Penn State University Athletic Director Tim Curley and former Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz.
BREAKING: Former Penn State athletic director pleads guilty to child endangerment in Jerry Sandusky molestation scandal.
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/apeastregion/status/841316378166644736
Both Curley and Schultz pled guilty ahead of former school President Graham Spanier who is still scheduled to stand trial next week.
All three played various roles in the Jerry Sandusky scandal that stretched from 1994 to 2009. Sandusky, the school’s former football defensive coordinator, was the first one convicted back in 2012 when he was convicted on 45 of 48 child sex abuse counts for molestation.
Curley, Schultz, and Spanier all oversaw the program and University back in 2001 when a graduate assistant at the time, Mike McQueary, reported seeing Sandusky sexually abuse a boy in a shower in Penn State’s Lasch Building. Despite learning of the incident and knowing how illegal it was, the trio did not report it to the police, childcare, or youth services and none made an effort to identify the child.
Curley and Schultz’s pleas came early Monday morning and the agreement they have creates the possibility for them to testify against Spanier at next week’s trial, when all three were set to originally stand trial. The plea they agreed to includes one misdemeanor count with a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine and five years in prison. The judge stated no agreement has been made on their sentencing according to Penn Live.
The other top official involved was Head Coach Joe Paterno. He was fired for his role in the scandal and saw 111 wins from his career vacated by the NCAA, but eventually restored. Paterno passed away in 2012.
The University and school were hit hard with other sanctions as well: $60 million fine for an endowment that prevents child abuse, loss of scholarships, five years of probation for the football program, no bowl games for four years, vacating 112 wins total, and the beginning of the Freeh Report recommendations.
Some sanctions were later reversed.
[Penn Live/College Football Talk/Photo: AP]
