March 24 (UPI) — Graham B. Spanier, a former president of the Pennsylvania State University, was acquitted Friday of two felony criminal charges stemming from the Jery Sandusky sex abuse scandal — but convicted on one misdemeanor count of child endangerment.
Spanier, the college’s president at the time of the scandal, learned his judgment on the second day of jury deliberations Friday at the Harrisburg courthouse.
Prosecutors argued that Spanier had been aware there was possible child sexual abuse happening on the State College, Pa., campus, but chose to ignore it. Two other ousted university officials — former athletic director Tim Curley and senior vice president Gary Schultz — testified against Spanier at trial.
Spanier, prosecutors said, knew about the issue as early as 2001 when a member of the coaching staff informed him he had seen Sandusky and a boy naked in the locker room.
Defense attorneys argued that Spanier was never told the witnessed conduct was sexual or criminal in nature, and that it was wrong for authorities to criminalize an instance of bad judgment.
“There always have been substantial questions in this case that need to be reviewed and resolved by the appellate courts, and we fully intend to pursue an appeal,” defense attorney Sam Silver said.
Sandusky, an assistant football coach at the school between 1969 and 1999, but allowed to remain close to the program for years afterward, was arrested in 2011 and convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing 10 young boys and is serving a prison sentence of 30 to 60 years. A year later, the university agreed to pay nearly $60 million to settle potential legal claims from more than two dozen other victims.
The staff member who witnessed the 2001 incident, Mike McQueary, won a $7.3 million defamation suit against the school last fall and the U.S. Department of Education sought a $2.4 million penalty after a review of the case.
As a result of the misdemeanor child endangerment conviction, Spanier, 68, faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He was found not guilty of felony endangerment and conspiracy, which could have meant a much more severe sentence.
Prosecutors said Friday they were not certain whether they will seek jail time for Spanier, who was Penn State’s president between 1995 and 2011.
“First and foremost, our thoughts remain with the victims of Jerry Sandusky,” the university said in a statement Friday. “While we cannot undo the past, we have re-dedicated ourselves and our University to act always with the highest integrity, in affirming the shared values of our community.
“We remain firmly committed today and in the future to societal progress in the fight to protect the wellbeing of all children.”
Last week, Curley, 62, and Schultz, 67, each pleaded guilty to the same misdemeanor count Spanier was convicted of. All three — along with iconic football head coach Joe Paterno — were ultimately forced to resign from their positions at the university over the scandal
“They consciously turned their backs and the abuse continued,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Friday. “These leaders endangered the welfare of children by both their actions and inactions. There are zero excuses when it comes to failing to report the abuse of children to the appropriate authorities.”
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