Penn State is seeking a delay in proceedings of another case prompted by the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.
The university has petitioned the court asking that the delay last through the completion of the criminal trial of former university administrators Graham Spanier, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz.
Documents were filed in Pennsylvania’s Middle District Court that requested a stay on a civil case, filed by one ‘John Doe,’ who alleges that he is a victim of Sandusky. The man is not one of the 10 witnesses who testified at Sandusky’s June trial.
Penn State cited other legal action against the university that was granted a stay, including other civil cases filed by alleged victims and The Second Mile, as some of the reasons the case in question should be delayed.
James Keller, an attorney representing Penn State, said each of the defendants, including The Second Mile and Spanier and Schultz do not oppose the motion. In a support brief, he says that the plaintiff’s case would not be negatively affected by a stay, although it is important for the defendants because of the overlapping cases and the fact that three of the defendants have been indicted.
Recently, a judge denied Penn State a stay in assistant football coach Mike McQueary’s $4 million whistleblower, defamation and misrepresentation lawsuit.
Spanier, Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz were charged in November as a part of Attorney General Linda Kelly’s ‘conspiracy of silence.’
Their December and January court dates were all canceled and have yet to be rescheduled.
Sandusky, 68, was sentenced on Oct. 9 to 30-60 years in prison for his sex crimes against children. He was moved to SCI Greene in October, a maximum security prison, where he will serve the duration of his sentence.
