Ex-Penn State officials to testify against old boss
HARRISBURG, PA. — Two former Penn State officials who struck plea deals with prosecutors are expected to test i f y agai nst ex- universi t y president Graham Spanier at a child endangerment trial linked to the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Prosecutors picking jurors Monday in Spanier’s trial said former vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley are on their witness list.
Spanier was forced out shor tly after Sandusky, a longtime assistant football coach, was charged with child molestation in 2011. Spanier is charged with putting children at risk by mishandling child sex abuse complaints about Sandusky. He denies any wrongdoing.
The government witness list also names police investigators and university staff who knew about earlier complaints about Sandusky. That list includes Mike McQueary, a graduate assistant coach who reported seeing Sandusky shower with a boy in 2001.
Seven women and five men were picked for the jury Monday after potential jurors were questioned behind closed doors, presumably as they addressed questions about sexual abuse and other sensitive topics. Opening statements are expected late Tuesday morning after four alternates are selected.
Spanier declined to comment as he entered the Harr i s burg c our t house f or a trial that could last a week or more.
Spanier, 68, is accused of two counts of endangering the welfare of children and a single conspiracy charge, all felonies. Schultz and Curley pleaded guilty last week to a single misdemeanor count of child endangerment, and await sentencing.
The charges stem from their handling of the 2001 report that Sandusky had apparently molested a boy in a team shower. Prosecutors say their failure to report that to authorities allowed Sandusky to continue to abuse boys and also endangered others.
Sandusky was not arrested until 2011, after prosecutors got an anonymous tip about the shower incident.
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