Two Penn State officials surrendered to authorities Monday on charges that they failed to report suspected sexual abuse of a child by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and committed perjury in their grand jury testimony.
Senior Vice President Gary Schultz, 62, and Athletic Director Tim Curley, 57, appeared in a Harrisburg, Pa., courtroom Monday. Bail was set at $75,000. They had to surrender their passports but weren't required to enter pleas.
Both men resigned late Sunday. Curley asked for a leave of absence and Schultz went back into retirement after they were accused of failing to alert police to sexual abuse complaints against Sandusky and lying to a state grand jury investigating the case.
Both Schultz and Curley will seek to have the charges dismissed, according to their lawyers. Schultz's lawyer said his client was not required by law to report suspected abuse and that the two-year statute of limitations on the summary offense has expired.
Penn State President Graham Spanier expressed his support for Schultz and Curley in a statement released Saturday. “I have known and worked daily with Tim and Gary for more than 16 years,” he said. “I have complete confidence in how they handled the allegations about a former university employee.”
Also on Monday, investigators encouraged anyone with knowledge of possible inappropriate behavior by Sandusky to contact authorities, in particular a child that was reportedly assaulted by Sandusky in view of a graduate student in 2002. Pennsylvania Atty. Gen. Linda Kelly said Penn State officials never attempted to identify that child after the incident was reported by the graduate assistant.
“Today as we stand here, we encourage that person who is now likely to be a young adult to contact investigators from the attorney general's office,” she said. “This is an ongoing and active investigation .… We are determined to quickly respond to any new witnesses or any additional information that may appear.”
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-- Chuck Schilken
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo: Tim Curley, center, and Gary Schultz, right, enter the Magisterial District Court to be arraigned on charges of perjury and failure to report child sex abuse allegations. Credit: Patrick Smith / Getty Images
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