Did Penn State Officials Know Jerry Sandusky Was a Pedophile Since 1998?

by
Eileen Morgan


If you accept the scathing conclusions drawn by Louis Freeh in his July 2012 report, then
you believe that Joe Paterno, Tim Curley, Graham Spanier, and Gary Schultz knew that Jerry
Sandusky was a pedophile since at least 1998 and enabled him to continue to molest boys
for over a decade. At the time Sandusky was investigated in 1998, Curley had been AD for
about 4 years, Schultz had been in his position for a similar length of time, and Spanier had
been president for only about two and a half years. These men knew that Sandusky had a
reputation of being a pillar of the community, a caring man who had dedicated his life to
helping young, underprivileged children maximize their potential in life. According to
Freeh, these men also knew that Sandusky used his prestige and celebrity to gain access
into the lives of young, unassuming boys through his Second Mile Foundation. It is there,
where he met and preyed on boys, destroying their innocence, leaving them
psychologically damaged for a lifetime.

Freeh had us believing that these high ranking men of Penn State, Joe Paterno-Head
Football Coach, Tim Curley-Athletic Director, Graham Spanier-President, and Gray SchultzSenior VP of Business & Finance, conspired to cover-up Sandusky’s vile behavior with
innocent children for over 14 years in order to avoid bad publicity and to protect their
precious football program of Penn State.

According to Freeh’s report, these four men knew that Sandusky was investigated for
suspected child abuse in 1998 and, although the District Attorney did not bring charges
after a thorough investigation, these men somehow knew the allegations were legitimate
and that Sandusky was a pedophile. But what were they to do with this knowledge? Since
the DA would not press charges, which would keep the truth about Sandusky out of public
eye, Freeh’s theory suggests that they now needed to band together and cover-up
Sandusky’s sexual molestation of children.

A ‘cover-up’ is defined as ‘a concealment that attempts to prevent something scandalous
from becoming public.’ Could it be that these men, from this point forward in mid-1998,
were in ‘cover-up’ mode? Apparently, they needed to conceal Sandusky’s behavior at all
costs in order to protect the football program from bad publicity.

PSU Officials Despised Sandusky

At this juncture, Freeh’s theory would require us to consider the thoughts and attitudes of
these men toward Sandusky after realizing he was a pedophile. A child molester is
probably the lowest form of humanity on this earth. It is doubtful there are any human
beings detested more than a pedophile. Even when incarcerated for their depravity towards children, pedophiles are often harmed by fellow inmates. That is the pinnacle of
hatred. Fellow criminals will not even tolerate the nefarious ways of a child molester. If
pedophiles survive jail time or get a light sentence, they have nowhere to go. They are
completely ostracized from society, despised and given little value as a human being.
Paterno, Curley, Spanier, and Schultz must have absolutely abhorred Sandusky. They
would have had zero respect, zero tolerance, and zero concern for him. And, they would
have wanted nothing to do with him being that they all had reputations for promoting the
well-being and development of children and youth. Not only was Sandusky the lowest
form of life, but, by Freeh’s account, Sandusky now brought them into his sick world, and in
order to protect the football program they had to accept his lifestyle and stand idly by
while he continued to destroy children’s lives while they turned a blind eye.

The Alleged Cover-Up Begins

The first investigation of Sandusky began in May 1998. However, just a couple months
earlier, in February, Paterno and Sandusky began talks about Sandusky’s retirement. So,
within two months of the first talks of Sandusky’s retirement, the four senior officials at
Penn State allegedly became aware that Sandusky was a serial pedophile. Sandusky’s
retirement would have been the perfect way out of this mess. Given the circumstances
and their likely disgust for Sandusky, they would have wanted to distance themselves from
him as far as possible and as quickly as possible. A speedy retirement would have been the
clear-cut remedy.
Knowing the probable mindset the Penn State officials must have had toward Sandusky
and his repugnant behavior, consider the following timeline of events that transpired since
1998. Do the actions of the Penn State officials harmonize with their aversion to
Sandusky? Was there a speedy retirement and a quick disengagement from all contact
with him? Keep in mind that year after year these men were becoming more deeply
involved within their cover-up, Freeh speculates, so they had to protect themselves and
their criminality even more. Incredulously, we are asked to believe that these actions were
indicative of how the four men would have interacted with Sandusky, the man they were
trying to distance themselves from as quickly as possible.

Interactions of Paterno, Curley, Spanier and Schultz with Sandusky

1998 (Page numbers/Exhibits are referenced from Freeh Report)

February 1998
- Paterno made it clear to Sandusky that Sandusky would not be the next head
football coach (p.56) (due to his time spent with Second Mile. (Exhibit 3D))- Curley considered offering Sandusky an Assistant Athletic Director position.
Sandusky declined. (p.56)

May 1998
- Report of suspected child abuse of Sandusky to UP Police, State College Police,
DPW, CYS, DA. (p.41)

June 1998
- DA determined no charges would be filed following a thorough investigation.
(p.50)

1999
January 1999
- Email from Curley to Spanier and Schultz, “I had a good meeting with Jerry
today. He is interested in going one more year (coaching) and then transition
into a spot that handles the outreach program….We need to have Joe in
support.” (p.57, Exhibit 3C)

May 1999
- Sandusky’s letter re Retirement requesting: Second Mile to have an ‘on-going’
relationship with Penn State, Second Mile to have continuing ‘visibility’ at Penn
State, Sandusky wanted ‘active involvement in developing an outreach program
featuring Penn State Athletes’ and wanted ‘ways for him to continue to work
with young people through Penn State.’ (p.58, Exhibit 3E)

- Sandusky also requested a $20,000 yearly annuity in addition to his pension, an
office with telephone, a title reflecting his relationship with Penn State, football
ticket options, access to training and workout facilities, opportunity to run a
football camp, and other options of maintaining visibility with Penn State. (p.58,
Exhibit 3F)

June 1999
- 13th
, Curley emailed Spanier and Schultz that ‘Jerry is leaning towards
retirement if they agree to the $20,000 annuity.’ The email also stated that ‘Joe
did give him the option to continue to coach as long as Joe was coach.’ And
‘Perhaps we could suggest another option of him coaching three more
seasons….Since Joe is okay with him continuing to coach this might make more
sense to all concerned.’ (p.58, Exhibit 3G)

- 29th, PSU finalized a retirement agreement which was agreed to by Sandusky
and PSU on June 29, 1999 which gave Sandusky a one-time lump sum (in lieu of
the yearly $20,000 annuity); football tickets for life; basketball tickets for life;
use of locker, weight rooms and locker room facilities for life; for 5 years,
subject to renewal, Sandusky and PSU agreed to work collaboratively with each
other in community outreach programs, such as Second Mile, and Second Mile
will have occasional recognition in the Beaver Stadium Pictorial and the Penn
State Football Story Show; and Sandusky will have an office and a phone in the East Area locker room complex for purposes of these collaborative
arrangements. (p.59, Exhibit 3H)

- 30th, Curley sought to have Sandusky re-employed as an ‘emergency hire’ for
the 1999 football season. Sandusky was re-hired for 95 days at his existing
salary plus 6% cost of living increase. (p.60)

July 1999
- Curley announced Sandusky’s retirement and said Sandusky ‘will continue to
offer his services on a volunteer basis to the athletic department’s Lifeskills and
Outreach programs.’ (p.108)

- In the same announcement, Paterno praised Sandusky’s contributions to the
University’s football program and said Sandusky was ‘…a person of great
character and integrity.’ (p.108)

August 1999
- University officials agreed to give Sandusky Emeritus Rank. Provost Rodney
Erickson signed off granting Sandusky Emeritus Status. (pp. 60-61)

August-December 1999
- Sandusky’s final season as a Penn State football coach.

NOTE: Freeh’s Special Investigative Counsel did not find any evidence that Sandusky’s
retirement was associated with Sandusky’s alleged criminal behavior on May 3, 1998. (pp.
55, 58)
_________________________________________________________________________

Overview of Sandusky’s Post Retirement Relationship with Penn State

1999-2008
- Sandusky operated summer youth football camps at University Park campus
(1999-2008), Behrend campus (2000-2008) and Harrisburg campus (2007-2008).
(pp.105, 108)

- After his retirement, PSU made 71 payments to Sandusky for travel, meals,
lodging, speaking engagements, and camps. Speeches were at American
Football Coaches Association, Penn State Leadership Conference, and a
presentation at Penn State Spring Conference. (p.106)

2000-2011
- Sandusky had regular access to premium season seats in the Nittany Lion Club
for all home PSU football games. (p.105)

2003-2011
- Penn State football staff and players helped Sandusky with his annual Second
Mile Golf Outings. (p.108)
_________________________________________________________________________
2001
February 2001
- Mike McQueary witnessed Sandusky alone in the shower with a boy in the
football locker room. (p.62)

- McQueary told his father, John, and Dr. Dranov (omitted by Freeh), who told
Mike to tell Paterno, who informed Curley and Schultz, who informed Spanier.
McQueary also met directly with Curley and Schultz. Curley informed the
executive director of Second Mile, Jack Raykovitz, who told two Second Mile
board members. (p.62)

- Schultz discussed the matter with PSU outside legal counsel Wendell Courtney.
(p.62)

- Schultz and PSU legal counsel Wendell Courtney recollected that Centre County
CYS was informed.(p.84 and p. 213 of Preliminary Perjury hearing transcripts)

- Curley and Schultz discussed, according to an email that was CC’d to Schultz’s
assistant Joan Coble, the possibility of informing Dept. of Public Welfare. (p.73,
Exhibit 5F)

- Sandusky was told by Curley and Raykovitz not to bring children into the
football facility any more. (pp.76-78)

September 2001
- In a press release, Gary Schultz praised Sandusky for his work with Second
Mile. (p. 79)

2008
- Late 2008, Aaron Fisher (Victim 1) reports abuse by Sandusky.

2009
March 2009
- 12th, Attorney General (Tom Corbett) launches his Sandusky investigation.

2010
January 2010
- Investigation is ramped up. PSU subpoenaed for Sandusky’s records. (p. 82)

May 2010
- 14th, Curley wrote a letter of recommendation for Sandusky for the American
Football Coaches Association Outstanding Achievement Award. (p.106)December 2010

- 28th, PSU counsel Cynthia Baldwin was informed that Paterno, Curley and
Schultz would be subpoenaed. (p.82)

- 28th, Baldwin informed Spanier and Schultz. (p.83)

2011
January 2011
- 3rd, Baldwin met with Paterno. (p.83)

- 12th, Paterno, Curley, and Schultz appeared before the Grand Jury. (p.84)

March 2011
- 24th, Spanier subpoenaed to testify before the Grand Jury. (p.85)

- 28th, Curley and Spanier received word that the Patriot-News was running a
story about the Sandusky investigation. (p.85)

- 31st, Patriot-News ran story about Sandusky investigation. (p.85)

November 2011
- 4th, Charges filed against Curley, Schultz and Sandusky. (p.91)

- 9th, Paterno and Spanier terminated from PSU (p.94)

Do PSU Officials’ Actions Correlate with Freeh’s Depiction?

To summarize, in 1998 the PSU men would have been repulsed by Sandusky and desperate
to disassociate themselves from him immediately. Since, according to Freeh, they were
now presumably covering up Sandusky’s crimes, implicating themselves in criminal activity,
they would have been in all out ‘protective mode.’ But the last thing they would have
allowed, once Sandusky retired, was for him to have unlimited access to the football
facilities. Logical thinking would suggest they couldn’t have taken the chance of Sandusky
committing additional crimes at these facilities, increasing the possibility of exposing their
own cover-up and criminal activity. This would have been much too risky.

Recap of Behavior

Freeh’s Special Investigative Counsel did not find any evidence that Sandusky’s retirement
was associated with his alleged criminal behavior on May 3, 1998. If PSU officials knew of
Sandusky’s pedophilia, why didn’t they jump at the chance to firm up his retirement quickly
in 1998? Retirement talks began in February 1998 but did not come to fruition until June 1999, 1.5
years later. Paterno gave Sandusky the option to continue to coach as long as Paterno was
head coach, and Curley and Paterno discussed the option of Sandusky coaching 3 more
years. Sandusky asked for many special retirement perks. If the PSU officials were
covering up for his pedophilia, Sandusky would have had NO negotiating power and his
retirement would have been post-haste. Curley negotiated an emergency re-hire for the
1999 season at Sandusky’s regular salary PLUS 6% cost of living, a very generous offer and
increase for someone he must have loathed if he knew Sandusky was molesting children.
Per the retirement agreement, University officials granted Sandusky Emeritus status and
the men ‘allowed’ the retirement to include unlimited access to the football facilities,
workout room and locker room, the very place Freeh believes they knew that some of
Sandusky’s depraved sexual events frequently occurred.

The PSU officials agreed to an on-going relationship with Sandusky and Second Mile.
Sandusky continued to run camps for young boys at Penn State’s Main Campus for almost a
decade after he retired, was paid for speeches, travel, food, etc. at PSU functions, and had
premium seating for all home football games. PSU football coaches and players
participated throughout the years in Second Mile golf outing fundraisers.

In July 1999, Paterno publicly praised Sandusky and said he was ‘a person of great
character and integrity.’ In 2001, Schultz publicly praised Sandusky for his Second Mile
work. And in May 2010, Curley wrote a letter of recommendation for Sandusky for the
American Football Coaches Association Outstanding Achievement Award.

Do these actions represent actions of men who knew Jerry Sandusky was a pedophile? Do
these actions depict animosity one would have toward a serial child molester, who they
knew had unfettered access to young boys through the Second Mile and who could, at any
time of day, week after week, month after month, year after year, be molesting innocent
boys?

Where Are The Emails and Phone Records?

By December 28, 2010, Spanier and Schultz knew that Paterno, Curley and Schultz were
subpoenaed to appear before the Grand Jury on January 12, 2011. Freeh discovered a
chain of two emails dated January 10, 2011 between Wendell Courtney and Gary Schultz.
Courtney was giving Schultz a heads-up that Baldwin had called him inquiring about the
2001 incident. (Exhibit 5B) If these four men at PSU had conspired for over a decade to cover-up Sandusky’s pedophilia, there would probably have been a rash of emails and phone calls between
them once they found out they were being subpoenaed to testify about Sandusky. Around
the end of December 2010 and beginning of January 2011 these men would have been
scrambling to talk to one another, to get their story straight, and to review their knowledge
of 1998 and 2001 so that they would be on the same page regarding Sandusky’s behavior.
Freeh found two routine emails between Courtney and Schultz on January 10, 2011. That’s
it. Where are all the other emails between Curley, Spanier, and Schultz? Certainly Freeh
would have discovered numerous emails between these men discussing the subpoenas and
their plan of attack regarding Sandusky and their cover-up. These men were about to have
their presumed 14 year cover-up of a former coach molesting boys on the Penn State
campus blown wide open. This was a five alarm fire. So where are the five alarm fire
related emails?

What about phone records? The Attorney General subpoenaed the men’s PSU office
phone records, as well as their home and cell phone records. Surely there would have
been a conspicuous trail of relevant phone calls between these men who were desperate
to talk to each other so their stories regarding the last 14 years would corroborate with
one another.

In addition, knowing they were complicit with Sandusky’s crimes all those years and
knowing they would probably be facing criminal charges, wouldn’t Curley, Schultz and
Spanier have retained competent counsel who specialized in criminal matters?

Do the lack of emails, lack of phone records, and lack of proper counsel portray the
behavior of men being subpoenaed who had conspired in a child molestation cover-up?

Do their actions represent actions of men who knew Jerry Sandusky was a pedophile since
1998?

No. In reality, the PSU officials’ behavior suggests that they had absolutely no idea
Sandusky was ever a pedophile. Freeh’s most ‘saddening finding’ that Paterno, Curley,
Spanier, and Schultz knowingly allowed Sandusky to molest boys for over a decade is
clearly NOT SUPPORTED by facts, actions, or records.