It wasn’t that long ago that the case against Penn State officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz looked to be weakening to the point of collapse. Mike McQueary, the now-former assistant coach who allegedly informed Joe Paterno and other Penn State officials about witnessing an alleged assault involving Sandusky, was having trouble keeping his story straight, and the latest variation in his story put the alleged incident outside the statute of limitations for failure to report.
With all that, the only real evidence linking any Penn State officials to anything resembling a cover-up was one lone witness’ story—a story that was both inconsistent and old past the point of utility.
That has reportedly changed. Severely.
On a televised report on the Today Show, NBC News’ Michael Isikoff said that investigators had uncovered emails from since-fired Penn State president Graham Spanier and other officials discussing McQueary’s report, and Spanier specifically telling Schultz that the “humane” thing to do was not bring the allegations to the attention of authorities.
Isikoff said that more charges were possible against Penn State officials; presumably, that includes Spanier, who heretofore had not been charged with anything by prosecutors.
According to Ben Jones of StateCollege.com, Penn State officials confirmed that emails were turned over to Louis Freeh during his independent investigation of the school’s response to the allegations, but did not comment on the nature of the emails or anything further; that’s, of course, customary in ongoing trials and investigations.
Also, according to Isikoff’s reports, lawyers for Curley and Schultz essentially confirmed the report, saying that the emails demonstrated that the two “reported [McQueary’s story] to … Spanier, and deliberated about how to responsibly deal with the conduct …”
Unless and until new charges are brought against Spanier, Curley or Schultz, there’s no telling what the investigators’ next move is or how it affects the statute of limitations; if that stays at 10 years, even if NBC’s report is accurate, this is all still probably moot.
But make no mistake: this is about as close to a metaphorical smoking gun as investigators could ask for, and even if the school is legally in the clear, it certainly appears as if there’s major culpability on the part of Penn State administrators in letting Sandusky remain free long past the point when a criminal investigation should have begun. We don’t presume that Sandusky is guilty without trial, but allegations like McQueary’s deserve an actual investigation, and not just consideration from school administrators.
