Penn State officials decided against reporting Sandusky after talking with Paterno: report
By DAN GOOD

Penn State officials decided against reporting Jerry Sandusky on child sex accusations a decade ago after discussing the situation with iconic football coach Joe Paterno, according to a new report.

Paterno, now deceased, had argued that he wasn't aware of the depth of Sandusky's transgressions.
CNN’s report, which aired Friday on Anderson Cooper 360, reveals emails shared in 2001 between school president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley and administrator Gary Schultz, after grad assistant Mike McQueary told the officials he saw Sandusky – a longtime assistant coach at the school – sexually abusing a boy in an on-campus shower.

According to emails acquired by CNN, former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley changed his feelings about reporting Jerry Sandusky after a discussion with football coach Joe Paterno.

According to CNN, Schultz emailed Curley on Feb. 26, 2001 about a plan to talk with Sandusky, alert his charity, The Second Mile, and “contact the Department of Welfare.”

The next night, CNN reports, Curley emailed Spanier and Schultz with a change of plans.

“After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe (Paterno) yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps. I am having trouble with going to everyone, but the person involved (Sandusky),” Curley allegedly wrote.

Curley’s plan? Talk to Sandusky about the accusations – as well as a previous incident in 1998, but to keep the punishment ‘in-house.’
CNN reports that Spanier responded two hours later in support of Curley’s plans, writing, “The only downside for us is if the message isn’t ‘heard’ and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it. But that can be assessed down the road.”

Penn State never reported the allegations against Sandusky to law enforcement, and Sandusky wasn’t investigated for child sex abuse until 2009. Earlier this month, he was found guilty on 45 different counts against him. He faces a maximum sentence of 442 years in prison.
Tom Kline, a lawyer for one of Sandusky's victims, said he was shocked by the emails.

"It is unquestionable that had these men not engaged in a concerted, conscious, collaborative effort not the report this to authorities, that the young man who I represent would not have been assaulted in the showers some six months later," Kline told CNN.

Curley and Schultz are charged with perjury, accused of lying to a grand jury investigating Sandusky. They have both maintained their innocence, and their lawyers released a statement to CNN, saying “Faced with tough situations, good people try to do their best to make the right decisions.”

Spanier resigned as Penn State’s president in November. He has not faced any charges connected to the Sandusky investigation.

Paterno was fired in November and died of lung cancer in January, the winningest football coach in NCAA Division I history – but a coach whose legacy has been marred by the Sandusky scandal.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/p ... z1zHKQdwh6

"Everything we saw in this trial could have been stopped by Penn State," Kline told CNN.
"This is an American tragedy of monumental proportions

(CNN) -- With convicted serial child sex abuser Jerry Sandusky behind bars, new questions are surfacing about what Penn State officials knew about a 2001 incident involving the former assistant football coach's encounter with a boy in the shower -- and whether they covered up the incident.

After the 2001 incident, Sandusky sexually abused other boys over the course of years until his arrest.

CNN does not have the purported e-mails. However, the alleged contents were made available to CNN.

The messages indicate former Penn State President Graham Spanier and two other former university officials knew they had a problem with Sandusky after a 2001 shower incident, but apparently first decided to handle it using a "humane" approach before contacting outside authorities whose job it is to investigate suspected abuse.

"This is a more humane and upfront way to handle this,' wrote Gary Schultz, then vice president at the university.
Records show no authorities were ever contacted and Sandusky was eventually charged with having sexual contact with four more boys after the 2001 incident. On June 22, Sandusky was convicted of abusing 10 boys over 15 years.

In an exchange of messages from February 26-28, 2001, Spanier allegedly acknowledges Penn State could be "vulnerable" for not reporting the incident, according to two sources with knowledge of the case.

"The only downside for us is if the message (to Sandusky) isn't 'heard' and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it," Spanier purportedly writes.

The alleged e-mails among Spanier, Schultz, 62, and former Athletic Director Tim Curley, 57, never mention Sandusky by name, instead referring to him as "the subject" and "the person." Children that Sandusky brought on campus --some of whom might have been victims -- are referred to as "guests."
The exchanges began 16 days after graduate assistant Mike McQueary first told Coach Joe Paterno on February 9, 2001, that McQueary believed he saw Sandusky make sexual contact with a boy in a locker room shower.

Since the scandal broke, Spanier, Schultz and Curley have publicly maintained McQueary reported only inappropriate conduct -- horsing around. The purported e-mails indicate the men could be at additional risk for not disclosing the matter to authorities. Schultz and Curley are currently charged with perjury and failing to report suspected child abuse. They have pleaded not guilty.

Paterno testified before a grand jury that McQueary was "very upset" and said he saw Sandusky "doing something with a youngster. It was a sexual nature," according to a transcript. Paterno testified he told his boss, Curley. Curley and Schultz contacted McQueary about a week and half later about the incident.

In an alleged e-mail dated February 26, 2001, Schultz writes to Curley that he assumes Curley's "got the ball" about a three-part plan to "talk with the subject asap regarding the future appropriate use of the University facility," ... "contacting the chair of the charitable organization" and "contacting the Department of Welfare," according to a source with knowledge of the case.

Schultz refers to Sandusky as the "subject" and Sandusky's Second Mile charity as the "charitable organization," according to a source with knowledge of the e-mails.

Pennsylvania law requires suspected child abuse be reported to outside authorities, including the state's child welfare agencies.
But then, something changes.

The next evening, February 27, Curley allegedly writes to Spanier. Schultz, who's out of the office for two weeks, is copied.

Curley refers to a meeting scheduled that day with Spanier and indicates they apparently discussed the Sandusky incident two days earlier.
Curley indicates he no longer wants to contact child welfare authorities just yet. He refers to a conversation the day before with Paterno. It's not known what Paterno may have said to Curley.

Curley writes: "After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps."

The athletic director apparently preferred to keep the situation an internal affair and talk things over with Sandusky instead of notifying the state's child welfare agency to investigate Sandusky's suspicious activity.

"I am having trouble with going to everyone, but the person involved," Curley allegedly continues.

Curley writes he'd be "more comfortable" meeting with Sandusky himself and telling him they know about the 2001 incident and -- according to a source with knowledge of the case -- refers to another shower incident with a boy in 1998 that was investigated by police, but never resulted in charges against Sandusky.

Curley writes to Penn State's president Spanier that he wants to meet with Sandusky, tell him there's "a problem," and that "we want to assist the individual to get professional help."

In the same purported e-mail provided to CNN, Curley goes on to suggest that if Sandusky "is cooperative," Penn State "would work with him" to tell Second Mile. If not, Curley states, the university will inform both Second Mile and outside authorities.

Curley adds that he intends to inform Sandusky that his "guests" won't be allowed to use Penn State facilities anymore.
"What do you think of this approach?" Curley allegedly wrote to Spanier.

About two hours later, Spanier responded to Curley in another e-mail and copied Schultz. Spanier allegedly called the plan "acceptable", but worries whether it's the right thing to do, according to two sources.

"The only downside for us is if the message (to Sandusky) isn't 'heard' and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having
reported it," Spanier purportedly wrote.

"But that can be assessed down the down the road. The approach you outline is humane and a reasonable way to proceed," he adds.
The next afternoon, Schultz allegedly responded to the Penn State president and its athletic director. Schultz signs off on handling the matter without telling anyone on the outside, at least for now.

"This is a more humane and upfront way to handle this,' Schultz purportedly wrote. But he made clear Penn State should inform Sandusky's charity Second Mile "with or without (Sandusky's) cooperation."

As for telling child welfare authorities, he added, "we can play it by ear."

No one ever reported the 2001 shower incident. A decade later, a 2011 grand jury found no Pennsylvania law enforcement or child welfare agency was ever told.

"It was not only not humane to give Sandusky a pass, but inhumane towards young men who fell prey to him," said attorney Tom Kline, who represents Victim 5. About six months after the February 2001 incident witnessed by McQueary, Victim 5 was molested. Last week,
Sandusky was convicted of having unlawful sexual contact with Victim 5, among 44 other counts involving nine other boys.

Schultz and Curley already are charged with perjury fofr allegedly lying to a grand jury and failure to reported suspected child abuse.

Sources say based on the e-mails and other documents, they could face additional charges. Spanier, sources say, could also be charged, law enforcement sources and legal experts say.

As part of an ongoing grand jury investigation, state prosecutors are pouring over the e-mails turned over by Penn State as part of its own investigation, led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh.

According to court papers, the government is also examining a Sandusky file left behind by Schultz. In a statement, Schultz's attorney Tom Farrell says Schultz who retired in 2009, did not keep any "secret" files.

Prosecutors say the file was created, maintained, and possessed by Schultz and assert documents in the file are "inconsistent" with statements made by Schultz and Curley to a grand jury.

One inconsistency may involve Schultz's grand jury testimony stating the state's child welfare agency was notified about the 2001 shower incident. "My recollection would be ... (in 2002) ... that they were asked to look into this allegation," Schultz testified.

He also testified any notes he "probably" took about the 2002 incident may have been destroyed when he retired in 2009.

Curley's grand jury testimony also appears inconsistent with the e-mails. In the messages, he refers to "a first situation" in 1998, yet he told a grand jury he wasn't aware of any other allegations of alleged sexual conduct involving Sandusky.

A prosecutor asked Curley: "Specifically, a 1998 report, did you know anything about that in 2002?" Curley responded: "No, ma'am."
Schultz and Curley, through their lawyers, consistently maintain McQueary didn't tell them about a sexual assault in 2001, and instead said McQueary described "inappropriate conduct" or horsing around.

McQueary has repeatedly testified he told Penn State officials he saw a boy with his hands up against a wall with Sandusky behind him and heard slapping, rhythmic sounds. He added that someone wouldn't have to be "a rocket scientist" to figure out what was going on.
A jury acquitted Sandusky of rape involving the 2001 incident, and instead found Sandusky guilty of several other counts involved in that shower incident including unlawful sexual contact.

Spanier's lawyer did not respond to calls from CNN seeking comment for this story.

According to Penn State's board of trustees, Spanier was fired last year because "he failed to meet his leadership responsibilities."

Shortly after his dismissal, Spanier issued a statement that said, in part, "I was stunned and outraged to learn that any predatory act might have occurred in a university facility or by someone associated with the university. ... I would never hesitate to report a crime if I had any suspicion that one had been committed."

In a statement to CNN, lawyers for Schultz and Curley said both men were doing the best they could about a report of "inappropriate conduct" by a man with a stellar reputation.

"As Governor Tom Corbett stated, 'If we were going to do this case, we had to have the best possible case to go against somebody like Mr. Sandusky who was ... loved by everybody. Carried out of the football stadium on the shoulders of his football team. How can anybody say there must be something wrong with him?'" the lawyers' statement read, citing Corbett's remarks in a June 25 article by The Patriot News.
"For Curley, Schultz, Spanier and Paterno, the responsible and 'humane' thing to do was, like Governor Corbett (said), to carefully and responsibly assess the best way to handle vague, but troubling allegations. Faced with tough situations, good people try to do their best to make the right decisions."

A spokesman for Paterno's family, who has not seen any e-mails, told CNN Paterno didn't communicate by e-mail and defended the coach.
"Everyone should want the truth ... and Joe always told the truth," Dan McGinn told CNN. "He did the right thing. He told his boss about McQueary."

One thing is clear. There's no evidence Penn State did anything to find the boy involved in the 2001 incident.

The night Sandusky was led away in handcuffs, Penn State issued a statement calling for healing. So did the family of Joe Paterno.
Healing might take time. Everyone is waiting for the results of Freeh's investigation, anticipated by this fall. It's unclear when state investigators will finish their work. The Justice Department is also conducting a probe, as is the U.S. Department of Education and the NCAA.

And Penn State is already reaching out to attorneys representing Sandusky's victims.

Their lawsuits have yet to be filed.

Kline, Victim 5's attorney, said he wants to see the results of Penn State's investigation.

"Everything we saw in this trial could have been stopped by Penn State," Kline told CNN.
"This is an American tragedy of monumental proportions."

More Penn State emails surface regarding McQueary's 2001 report of seeing Jerry Sandusky showering with a boy

By CHARLES THOMPSON, The Patriot-News

A CNN report Friday night shed more light on the evolution of top Penn State administrators’ reaction to a February 2001 incident in which then-graduate assistant Michael McQueary caught former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky showering with a young boy in the campus football building.

The report, focusing on a series of emails after McQueary's initial reports about the incident, suggested that shortly after receiving them, then Vice President for Finance and Business Affairs Gary Schultz developed a three-part plan to talk with Sandusky; contact the Second Mile — the youth charity Sandusky founded; and inform child welfare authorities.

But that plan was put on hold, the report stated, Feb. 27, when Schultz received an e-mailed reply from Athletic Director Tim Curley — apparently after a discussion with head football coach Joe Paterno — in which Curley suggests talking with Sandusky directly before alerting any outside authorities.

"After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps," CNN quoted Curley as saying in an email. Curley indicated, according to the report, that he planned to talk with Sandusky and also contact The Second Mile, but not necessarily the child welfare office if Sandusky cooperated and got professional help.

Paterno testified to a grand jury in January 2011 that when told of the 2001 incident by McQueary, he passed it up along the chain of command to Curley and was no longer involved.

The CNN report then referenced a third e-mail, later on Feb. 27, in which Spanier appeared to voice his support for Curley’s plan.

"I am supportive," Spanier emailed Curley, according to the e-mails obtained by CNN. "The only downside for us if the message isn’t heard and acted upon, and then we become vulnerable for not having reported it," Spanier wrote.

The CNN report did not identify the source of the latest emails. A previously leaked email, presumbaly from the same exchange, quoted Spanier as stating that dealing with the Sandusky allegations internally would be the "humane" way to approach the situation.
Penn State officials never reported the 2001 incident to police or child welfare authorities, and Sandusky was convicted last week of molesting 10 different boys at various times between 1994 and 2008.

The attorney for one of those victims, Thomas R. Kline, said in a follow-up interview on the cable network that the exchange appears to show "a conscious decision to make the wrong decision" regarding Sandusky.

"There could not be a poorer choice made... and more reckless conduct by people charged with the running of the university," Kline said.

Curley and Schultz have been charged with perjury for lying to the Sandusky grand jury about what they knew about the McQueary report, and failure to report suspected child abuse and are awaiting trial in Dauphin County court.

Their lawyers, Caroline Roberto and Tom Farrell, issued this statement to CNN:
"As Governor Tom Corbett stated, ‘If we are going to do this case, we had to have the best possible case to go against somebody like Mr. Sandusky who was … loved by everybody … carried out of the football stadium on the shoulders of his football team.'

"For Curley, Schultz, Spanier and Paterno, the responsible and ‘humane’ thing to do was, like Governor Corbett, to carefully and responsibly assess the best way to handle vague, but troubling allegations. Faced with tough situations, good people try to do their best to make the right decisions."

A spokesman for Paterno’s family told CNN that neither he nor the Paterno family had seen any emails.

Joe Paterno influenced Penn State officials to keep quiet about Jerry Sandusky, emails reveal
The missives seemingly contradict the late Paterno's claim that he alerted higher-ups to a report of Sandusky showering with a boy and had nothing to do with the matter after that.

BY TRACY CONNOR / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Newly uncovered emails in the Jerry Sandusky case show that Penn State officials were on the verge of blowing the whistle on him -- but changed their minds after talking to coach Joe Paterno.

The missives, obtained by CNN, seemingly contradict the late Paterno's claim that he alerted higher-ups to a report of Sandusky showering with a boy and had nothing to do with the matter after that.

They could also spell trouble for a trio of university bigwigs: Athletic Director Tom Curley and Senior Vice President Gary Schultz, who have been charged with perjury, and former college president Graham Spanier, who was forced to resign after the scandal broke.

Tom Kline, a lawyer for one of the molestation victims, called the emails "shocking" and told CNN they showed a "concerted, conscious, collaborative effort" to keep Sandusky's crimes a secret from authorities.

The emails were sent in 2001, two weeks after assistant coach Mike McQueary found Sandusky and a boy in a shower - and three years after another shower incident.

They reveal that Penn State administrators planned to alert Sandusky's Second Mile charity and the state Department of Public Welfare, but dropped that idea after consulting with Paterno.

"After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps," Curley wrote to Schultz and Spanier.

. . .

The bs thrown at a deceased Joe Paterno here is unfathomable

So one of the guys who's job it was to report it(and there are 3 of
Them) said "after talking with Joe" and that means Paterno directed
A coverup?....bullshit......

It means that that
1. The 3 stooges didn't report it promptly
2. And days later Paterno as a friend had misgivings

Still doesn't change the fact the admins should've reported it....

Funny how the guys who really have something to lose come
Up with this after Paterno died

Sounds like some assholes trying to cut bait and blame the dead guy if you ask me.