Penn State’s Response to Abuse, Day by Day
Investigators working on the Freeh report uncovered dozens of e-mail messages in which top Penn State administrators discuss how to respond to allegations against Jerry Sandusky. The calendar below highlights two important incidents, one in 1998 and the other in 2001.
At 11 a.m. on May 4, 1998, a woman called the university police to report that Jerry Sandusky had showered with her 11-year-old son in a Penn State locker room the day before. Later that morning, the police interviewed the boy. He told them that Mr. Sandusky had wrestled with him, they worked out on exercise machines, and then the two showered in the coaches’ locker room. Mr. Sandusky had wrapped his hands around the boy’s chest and said, “I’m going to squeeze your guts out.” The boy told the police he felt “weird” and “uncomfortable” during the shower.
On or about February 9, 2001, Michael McQueary, then a graduate assistant for the football team, saw Jerry Sandusky abusing a boy in a Penn State locker room. He told Coach Joe Paterno about the incident the next morning. Mr. Paterno later told Timothy M. Curley, the athletic director.
On Monday, February 12, Mr. Curley met with Gary C. Schultz, senior vice president for finance and business. According to the Freeh report, handwritten notes by Mr. Schultz state that the two “agreed [Curley] will discuss w JVP & advise we think [Curley] should meet w JS on Friday. Unless he ‘confesses’ to having a problem, TMC will indicate we need to have DPW review the matter.”
Mr. Spanier said that he met with Mr. Schultz and Mr. Curley that afternoon and that he was told Mr. Sandusky was “horsing around” in the locker room with a youth from the Second Mile.
