Penn State’s Board of Trustees were informed by then-president Graham Spanier about the grand jury investigation of former PSU defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky months before he was arrested on charges of child-sex abuse, interim president Rodney Erickson told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
In a wide-ranging interview, which can be read HERE, Erickson said Spanier told the trustees of the investigation during a meeting in May or July. Erickson, who was provost at the time, said he was unaware of the meeting and was not informed of it until after Sandusky was arrested in November.“I have no idea, because I wasn’t there,” Mr. Erickson said when asked how serious the allegations were characterized in the briefing. “Nor did I know it was taking place.”
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Mr. Erickson said he had read about the grand jury investigation -- first reported by the Harrisburg Patriot-News -- in the Centre Daily Times. He did not inquire further, noting the only new allegations seemed to have no connection to Penn State and were against a retired employee he did not know still had access to campus.
Erickson’s denial of any knowledge of the Sandusky situation has already been challenged, but his interview with the Post-Gazette does raise more questions about who knew what and when.
The school’s Board of Trustees fired Spanier and coach Joe Paterno in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal.