HARRISBURG —
Two weeks before former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is expected to be sentenced on child molestation charges, a county judge determined that perjury charges should remain in place against two university administrators.
Dauphin County Judge Todd Hoover ruled Wednesday against former Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley on the felony perjury charge they both face, but he didn’t decide on a separate request to throw out the other charge — failure to report suspected child abuse.
The perjury counts are felonies, while failure to report suspected child abuse is a summary offense, less serious than a misdemeanor. Schultz and Curley are accused of lying to the grand jury that investigated Sandusky.
The judge said the claim made by Schultz and Curley that there is insufficient evidence to corroborate the perjury charges will be more appropriately pursued during the trial. He also said prosecutors have given the defendants sufficient information about which parts of their grand jury testimony make up the perjury allegation.
“Having satisfied the request to specify the statements it will seek to prove as perjurious, we find that the commonwealth need not identify the manner in which it intends to prove the alleged falsity of each statement,” the judge wrote.
Hoover did not say when he would rule regarding the failure to properly report suspected child abuse, for which Curley and Schultz have argued the statute of limitations has expired.
Schultz, the university’s former vice president for business and finance, has retired. Curley, the athletic director, is on leave. Their trial is scheduled to begin in Harrisburg with jury selection on Jan. 7. Defense lawyers are seeking to split the criminal cases against them.
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office declined to comment Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the defendants’ lawyers did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Sandusky, a former defensive coordinator, was convicted in June on charges he sexually abused 10 boys, some on campus. He remains jailed awaiting sentencing Oct. 9.
Eight young men testified against Sandusky, describing a range of abuse they said went from grooming and manipulation to fondling, oral sex and rape when they were boys and for some included acts that occurred in Penn State team showers. One young man testified that his muffled screams from the basement of the Sandusky home in State College, where Penn State’s main campus is, went unanswered as Sandusky attacked him.
The 68-year-old Sandusky maintains his innocence, acknowledging he showered with boys but insisting he never molested them. Given his age and the serious nature of the crimes of which he was convicted, he’s likely to receive a sentence that will keep him in prison for life.
Penn State Scandal
Penn State officials lose pretrial motion on perjury
- Penn State Scandal
-
-
Paterno family speaks at child abuse event
On the night before he died, Joe Paterno scrawled a message that his wife Sue did not find until after the legendary coach had passed away. In that message, Joe Paterno noted the silver lining in the child sex abuse coverup that led to his firing might be that the scandal could inspire a greater awareness about child abuse.
-
Judge: No new trial for Sandusky
Jerry Sandusky lost a bid for a new trial Wednesday when a judge rejected his argument that his lawyers were not given enough time to prepare for the three-week proceeding that ended with a 45-count guilty verdict.
-
Ex-PSU president Spanier charged in sex abuse scandal
Former Penn State President Graham Spanier on Thursday became the latest high-ranking school official to face charges in the child sex-abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Additional charges were also filed against two other school officials already charged in the case.
-
Our Opinion: Sandusky jail term protects children and sends a message
There probably isn’t much new to say about the Jerry Sandusky saga at this point. However, yesterday’s sentencing of Sandusky to 30 to 60 years in prison — essentially a life term — for his conviction on child sex abuse charges, warrants additional comment.
-
Jerry Sandusky will die in prison, judge says
Jerry Sandusky was sentenced Tuesday to at least 30 years in prison — effectively a life sentence — in the child-sex-abuse scandal that brought shame to Penn State and led to coach Joe Paterno's downfall. A defiant Sandusky gave a rambling statement in which he denied the allegations and talked about his life in prison and the pain of being away from his family.
-
Former PSU assistant Jerry Sandusky sentenced to at least 30 years in prison
Jerry Sandusky was sentenced Tuesday to at least 30 years in prison — effectively a life sentence — in the child sexual abuse scandal that brought shame to Penn State and led to coach Joe Paterno's downfall. A defiant Sandusky gave a rambling statement in which he denied the allegations and talked about his life in prison and the pain of being away from his family.
-
Penn State officials lose pretrial motion on perjury
Two weeks before former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is expected to be sentenced on child molestation charges, a county judge determined that perjury charges should remain in place against two university administrators.
-
Lawyer: Sandusky regrets not taking the stand
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky regrets not taking the stand at his child sex abuse trial and likely will be sentenced next month, his defense lawyer said Wednesday.
-
Paternos adjust to new Penn State era
Penn State’s season opener Saturday will be the first since 1949 not featuring someone with the name Paterno on the coaching staff. The Paternos are out of the picture, like the campus statue of the family patriarch; erased like his coaching records.
-
Penn State Scandal: Former president Spanier goes on offensive
Penn State’s disgraced former president is trying to convince the public he had no idea that Jerry Sandusky was a child molester. Graham Spanier claims that he most certainly did not protect one.
- More Penn State Scandal Headlines
-
Paterno family speaks at child abuse event
