Penn State Universtiy officials confirmed with 6News early Monday that two university officials who testified in a grand jury investigation against a former coach have stepped down.
Board of trustee members ignored questions from reporters as they left an emergency executive meeting behind closed doors inside Old Main.
A short time later, a statement released by Penn State said that Athletic Director Tim Curley asked to be placed on administrative leave, to allow him time to prepare to defend himself in court.
Interim Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Gary Schultz notified PSU that he is stepping down and returning to retirement to prepare for his defense.
The move comes after former defensive coach JerrySandusky was accused of having sexual relations with eight boys during his time as a football coach at Penn State, as well as at the charity he formed to help struggling children, The Second Mile.
Authorities said Curley and Schultz have also been charged with perjury and failure to report suspected abuse in an investigation into allegations that Sandusky sexually abused eight young men. Schultz’s position includes oversight of the university’s police department. Curley and Schultz were expected to turn themselves in Monday. Penn State said that the university will cover legal costs for Curley and Schultz.
Within a 23-page graphic report issued at the conclusion of a two-year grand year jury probe, Curley and Schultz are accused of failing to notify authorities of an alleged sex crime involving Sandusky and a child, as well as providing false information while testifying before the grand jury in January.
67-year-old Sandusky was arrested on 40 charges and was released on $100,000 unsecured bail on Saturday. Officials with the Attorney General’s office said that additional details of the investigation will be released at a press conference at 1 p.m. on Monday, and said that Curley and Schultz will likely be arraigned in Harrisburg shortly after.
— NEWS ALERT: WATCH WJAC-TV FOR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE AT 1 P.M. MONDAY —
Kelly and Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan will discuss the details of Sandusky’s child sex crimes investigation during a news conference on Monday at 1 p.m., at the Attorney General’s Office in Harrisburg.
According to a news release, Kelly and Noonan will review the investigation by State Police and the Attorney General’s Office “into charges that Sandusky sexually assaulted at least eight young boys between 1995 and the present, including several victims who were assaulted in the football locker room showers on the Penn State University campus.”
Kelly and Noonan will also discuss perjury and other criminal charges filed against Curley and Schultz — who allegedly learned of Sandusky’s behavior in 2002, but failed to report it to authorities and later provided false testimony to an investigating grand jury.
Former Penn State defensive coordinator Sandusky was arrested Saturday morning and charged with 40 counts of sex crimes. 6News was the only news source there as Sandusky appeared before a Centre County magistrate. He arrived and left the hearing in the company of his attorney.
A criminal docket posted on the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System Web Portal showed that felony charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16, as well as indecent assault, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children charges were filed against Sandusky.
–RELATED STORY: University responds to allegations–
Attorney General Linda Kelly called Sandusky “a sexual predator who used his position within the university and community to repeatedly prey on young boys.”
Sources told 6News that this latest round of legal action follows a two-year grand jury investigation that started in Clinton County, where a teen accused Sandusky of inappropriate contact.
Sandusky founded the Second Mile charity in 1977 which, according to the foundation’s website, helped children across Pennsylvania to build self-confidence and physical and personal success.
In a written statement, a representative of The Second Mile told 6News, “Nevertheless, as an organization that is committed first and foremost to the safety and well-being of children we serve and consistent with The Second Mile policy, Jerry Sandusky has had no involvement in The Second Mile’s children’s programs and services since he made us aware of the allegations against him in November of 2008.”
–UNEDITED: 11/7/11 News Release From Second Mile–
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