In a news conference held Monday afternoon to discuss the charges filed over the weekend against former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky and two university administrators, Attorney General Linda Kelly said Joe Paterno is not a target of the investigation.
However, when asked if Penn State President Graham Spanier is a possible target, she said she couldn't comment because the investigation is ongoing.
When asked about whether Joe Paterno did what he should have done by informing Penn State administrators about what the graduate assistant had seen, Kelly said that he fulfilled his obligation under the law.
“He’s been cooperative with the investigators in this,” she said. “He’s not regarded as a target at this point.”
Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business are each charged with perjury and failure to report abuse.
Sunday night Curley asked trustees for permission to take administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing. Schultz, who previously retired and returned the job in an interim position, has stepped down.
Sandusky faces more than 40 charges related to allegations that he sexually abused eight boys between 1995 and 2009.
Kelly said she believes there may be more than eight victims, but wouldn't comment on whether any victims have come forward since the charges against Sandusky became public Friday night.
Her office is asking anyone with information about other possible victims to call investigators at 814-863-1053 or state police at 814-470-2238.
Two of the victims remain unidentified – the boy in the shower incident allegedly witnessed by graduate assistant Mike McQueary in 2002, and in 2000, another shower incident allegedly witnessed by a university janitor.
State police Commissioner Frank Noonah called Sandusky’s alleged actions “grooming,” in which a sexual predator identifies a child, becomes a mentor, gives gifts and tries to develop trust to take advantage of the child.
He said what was unusual about this case was that authorities knew about three cases that involved Sandusky taking showers in Penn State football buildings with young boys:
- A report of inappropriate conduct in 1998 led to an investigation by Penn State police. A woman whose son told her he had showered with Sandusky reported the incident to police. After the investigation, then-Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar declined to pursue criminal charges. The 1998 investigation also included another boy, who the grand juyr said was subject to nearly identical treatment.
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