Prosecutors and defense attorneys presented their opening statements Tuesday morning in the trial of former Penn State President Graham Spanier.
Spanier is accused of mishandling child sexual abuse complaints against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
The State Attorney General’s office outlined their arguments first, saying decisions made by Spanier allowed the abuse to continue. “Evil in the form of Jerry Sandusky was allowed to run wild” because of decisions not to do more, deputy attorney general Patrick Schulte told the jury. Schulte said Spanier and former administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz came up with a plan to address the allegations that did not go far enough to put a stop to the abuse. Curley and Schultz pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of child endangerment last week and will testify for the prosecution at Spanier’s trial. Schulte said the jury will hear from a John Doe witness, described as a victim of Sandusky who was abused after allegations first surfaced.
The defense’s opening remarks, given by attorney Sam Silver, also focused on those decisions but characterized them as a “judgment call” Spanier thought was appropriate with the best information available at the time. The administrators barred Sandusky from bringing kids into the athletic building, informed his charity for children, The Second Mile, and contacted child protective services.
“They didn’t talk about hiding anything,” Silver said. “They talked about what steps they would take.”
The test for the jury, he said, it whether those decisions constitute criminal activity.
In the afternoon, Mike McQueary took the stand and recounted when he saw Jerry Sandusky in the shower with a young boy. Prosecuters also presented emails they said showed Spaniers knowledge of what was happening. His defense said he was just copied on them and did not stop anyone from reporting the incident.
The trial continues tomorrow. The judge hopes to wrap the trial by Friday.