Ruling in Roman Catholic official’s sex abuse case could help former Penn State administrators

PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive

By Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com

A Roman Catholic priest lodged in a northeastern Pennsylvania prison cell may just have hit the legal equivalent of a home run for former Penn State President Graham Spanier and two of his former top aides at the university.

That’s because, some legal experts say, Pennsylvania Superior Court’s reversal Thursday of Monsignor William Lynn’s 2012 child endangerment conviction may well knock out similar charges lodged against Spanier, his athletic director, Tim Curley, and his vice president for business and finance Gary Schultz.

“There are huge implications for the Penn State prosecution from this case,” said Wes Oliver, a professor at the Duquesne University School of Law who has closely watched the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

“This could mean that some of the most serious charges (against Spanier, Curley and Schultz) are gone,” Oliver said.

The three former Penn State administrators face trial in Harrisburg next year on charges that they lied to state investigators about what they knew of child sex abuse allegations against Sandusky, then a beloved Penn State football hero, and what they did in response.

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