Jerry Sandusky Penn State Records Subpoenaed by US Attorney

The U.S. Attorney’s Office subpoenaed records in the sexual-abuse case of former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Penn State received the request around Feb. 2 from U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania office, said Lisa Powers, a spokeswoman for the university. The U.S. is seeking information about Sandusky, the charity he founded, the university, former Penn State President Graham Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, a former senior vice president at the school.

“The board of trustees is cooperating fully with the U.S. attorney’s investigation,” Karen B. Peetz, the board’s chairwoman, said yesterday in a statement on the university’s website. “The victims, the Penn State community and the public deserve to know the facts and see that justice is done.”

The U.S. is requesting information from 1998 to the present, as well as records of any payments by board members to the university or to third parties on the university’s behalf, Powers said in an e-mail. The subpoena also seeks reporting requirements of employers and staff relating to allegations of misconduct by staff or people associated with the university, Powers said.

Assisting State Probe

Smith said in November that he would assist state Attorney General Linda Kelly with the Sandusky investigation and prosecution as needed. Smith said at the time that his office also was assisting the U.S. Education Department in its investigation into whether Penn State violated federal laws requiring colleges and universities to report suspected criminal activity to campus police or law enforcement.

The U.S. asked the university to preserve e-mails, board meeting minutes, minutes of executive session meetings, disclosure reports, computer histories and hard drives, according to a copy of the subpoena posted on the university’s website. Smith extended the Feb. 29 deadline for compliance due to the volume of documents requested, Peetz said in the statement. A grand jury was scheduled to convene on Feb. 29, according to the subpoena.

Nils Frederiksen, a spokesman for Kelly, declined to comment on whether the subpoena is part of a joint investigation. Heidi Havens, a spokeswoman for Smith in Harrisburg, also declined to comment.

May Trial

Sandusky, 68, a former defensive coordinator for Penn State’s football team, is charged with more than 50 counts stemming from the alleged abuse of boys during a 15-year period. He is scheduled to go on trial in May.

The case led to last year’s firings of Spanier and head football coach Joe Paterno, who died last month. Schultz, who was once in charge of university police, and Curley are charged with lying to a grand jury about a 2002 sex-abuse allegation against Sandusky and failing to report the incident to police.

Joseph Amendola, Sandusky’s attorney, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The Sandusky case is Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Sandusky, CP-14-2422-2011, Court of Common Pleas, Centre County, Pennsylvania (Bellefonte).