FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 24, 2017

STATEMENT OF JUDGE LOUIS FREEH UPON THE JURY CONVICTION OF FORMER PSU
PRESIDENT SPANIER FOR CHILD ENDANGERMENT

Prosecutor at Spanier trial: Evil thrives when men do nothing

Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz and Timothy Curley were the most powerful men who ran the
Pennsylvania State University. Today, they are convicted criminals. And Joe Paterno's once
iconic legacy is forever marred by his own decision to do nothing when he had the chance to
make a real difference.

I am very saddened once again for the many victims of these outrageous crimes, as well as for
their families and loved ones, who suffer anew each time such criminal convictions recur. I am
also saddened for the many thousands of decent PSU students, athletes, faculty,
administrators, trustees, alumni and admirers who continue to endure the reputational harm,
scandal and embarrassment caused by these men.

For over 12 years, these men actively protected a notorious pedophile who inflicted irreparable
harm on countless child victims on the campuses and locker rooms at PSU. Although these
men had multiple opportunities to stop this vicious, serial predator from continuing to sexually
assault children who trusted the PSU campuses and programs as safe havens, they decided
together to protect this monster rather than report him to the police. More egregiously, for more
than 12 years, these powerful men did absolutely nothing to identify or to rescue the children
who were being raped and abused by their fellow-PSU colleague and football coach. Indeed, we
learned at Spanier's trial that Curley even assured The Second Mile that the pedophile was not
a threat to children, telling the organization that Sanduskys conduct had been investigated and
nothing inappropriate was found. Their deliberate and carefully considered decision not to
report this pedophile to police in 2001 enabled a child rapist to commit multiple (and heretofore
unknown) further assaults upon children, under the protective mantle of PSU.

These very sad criminal convictions also completely confirm and verify all the findings and facts
which my team and I established after an exhaustive investigation commissioned by the then-
PSU board, and led by former Trustee Ken Frazier, a man of impeccable integrity and loyalty to
PSU. Indeed, it was our able former prosecutors, judges, FBI Agents and Pennsylvania State
Police investigators who electronically recovered the smoking gun email evidence trail which
sealed the case against these men.

The trial evidence confirmed all of our critical findings that Mike McQueary reported the sexual
abuse" to Paterno, Curley and Schultz, who then reported the issue to Spanier, just as they had
done with the 1998 incident. As reflected at trial and in our PSU Report, the reporting of
sexual abuse is corroborated by the sworn testimony of Schultz and Curley, who attended an
urgent, Sunday meeting at Paternos home to discuss McQuearys report, Schultzs consultation
the same day with PSU lawyer Wendell Courtney about reporting suspected child abuse,
Schultzs inquiry the next day to PSUs Police Chief as to whether he still had the 1998
investigative report on Sandusky, and the use by three men of conspicuously cryptic emails
where Sandusky is referred to as the subject, the person involved or the person.

After Spanier, Schultz and Curley initially agreed to report the pedophile to the Department of
Child Welfare, Curley talked it over with Joe [Paterno] and their plan took a dramatic, and
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criminal turn. The men now agreed instead to meet with the pedophile, and to advise him of the
information received, as well as their awareness of the first situation," a certain reference to the
1998 shower incident and criminal investigation. Spanier readily agreed to this approach,
calling it the humane and a reasonable way to proceed. But Spanier ironically warned that the
only downside for us is if the message isn't heard and acted upon, and we then become
vulnerable for not having reported it. Today Spanier was finally held accountable for "not
having reported it," after years of false denials, personal attacks on the fact-finders, and over-
dramatic role-playing, including a phony, emotional New York Times interview. Instead of acting
like leaders and rescuers, Spanier, Schultz, Curley and Paterno stood by silently and left an
unknown number of child victims on their own. As Paterno advised McQueary, his assistant
coach: I said you did what you had to do. Its my job now to figure out what we want to
do. They did nothing.

The trial evidence confirmed that at no time did Spanier, Schultz or Curley try to identify the little
boy in the shower or whether the child had suffered harm, which of course he did for the rest of
his life. In the most heartbreaking testimony of the trial, a child victim described how he was
sexually assaulted on PSU's main campus after the men made their heartless and cowardly
decision to protect and to shield this child's sexual predator.

The criminal conduct of these three men has cost the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
taxpayers over one quarter billion dollars, and the costs continue to escalate. Amazingly,
Spanier was given a $6,000,000 golden parachute by PSU and continues to receive an annual
PSU salary of $600,000, with his legal fees being paid by the same taxpayers.
Unlike these child victims and their families, in time PSU's reputation will recover. However, new
leadership and vision are now required to lead PSU and to put this tragic chapter more quickly
behind. PSU President Eric Barron publicly stated that he was appalled to learn that more
recent, similar allegations against Paterno were being reported by the media. And upon what
should have been the Old Main-shattering news of child endangerment guilty pleas by Schultz
and Curley, PSU could only muster that it was deeply concerned, not even mentioning their
names or apologizing to the many child victims harmed and endangered. Only this afternoon,
after Spaniers conviction, did PSU issue a statement describing a profound failure of
leadership. Such a very belated, long overdue sentiment illustrates the concept of too little,
too late. Pennsylvania taxpayers, the entire PSU community and responsible political leaders
should be appalled by Barron and his entire leadership team.

Barron and a coterie of Paterno denier board members, alumni, cult-like groups such as Penn
Staters for Responsible Stewardship, a former professional football player, and certain elected
state political hacks, have been nothing but apologists for Paterno, Spanier, Schultz and Curley,
more concerned about bringing back a bronze statue than worrying about the multiple child
victims who have forever been so grievously harmed on the PSU campus. The Paterno family
even hired a respected former governor and attorney general to publicize their now totally
discredited claims.

Barron can do one, last good act of service to PSU by resigning, and taking along with him
board members like Anthony P. Lubrano and Albert L. Lord, who have no vision for PSU except
a rear-view one. Lubrano and Lord even went to court to call for the "repudiation" of our
report's well-documented conclusions, which have now been fully adopted and proved by the
courtroom guilty pleas of Schultz and Curley, and the long overdue criminal conviction of
Spanier.

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