After a preliminary hearing Friday, district judge William C. Wenner approved a trial for former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, saying prosecutors indeed have enough evidence to bring the case to trial. Curley and Schultz are accused of perjuring themselves in grand jury testimony regarding their knowledge of alleged sex crimes committed by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
The former officials’ lawyers maintain their clients’ innocence, believing uncorroborated testimony from Mike McQueary will not be enough for the prosecution to succeed. Curley and Schultz said they never received any indication from McQueary that the alleged contact he witnessed between Sandusky and a young boy in Penn State’s shower facility was as serious as rape.
In Friday’s hearing, McQueary said “it was very clear that it looked like there was intercourse going on,” which is what he relayed to coach Joe Paterno, who in turn informed Curley and Schultz. His testimony is key to the prosution’s case against the former Penn State officicals.