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McQueary Repeats Allegation About Sandusky

Mike McQueary as he arrived this morning at the Dauphin County Court in Harrisburg, Pa.
Bradley C. Bower
/
AP
Mike McQueary as he arrived this morning at the Dauphin County Court in Harrisburg, Pa.
(Note: There is graphic testimony about the alleged sexual abuse of a young boy in this post.)

Mike McQueary, a key witness in the case against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky — who stands accused of sexually abusing at least 10 young boys over more than a decade — is testifying this morning at a court hearing about the scandal that has rocked the university.

NPR's Jeff Brady is covering the Pennsylvania court proceeding and is posting updates on his Twitter page.

Just moments ago, Jeff reported that "McQueary says he saw Jerry Sandusky apparently having sex with a 10 or 12 year old boy in the shower" in 2002.

Harrisburg's Patriot-News, which is also posting updates on Twitter, adds that:

-- McQueary testified that "The boy was up against the wall, facing the wall. Jerry was directly behind him in a very close position."

-- "I did not see any insertion, did not hear any protest, screaming or yelling," McQueary said.

-- McQueary: "I believe Jerry was sexually molesting him and having some type of intercourse with him."

We'll pass along more news from Jeff and other reporters who are following the hearing. The hearing is about whether to go to trial with charges of perjury against two former Penn State officials, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz. They say they're innocent. And Sandusky, who faces 50 counts involving the alleged sexual abuse of 10 young boys, also maintains he's innocent.

Update at 3:29 p.m. ET. Penn State Officials Will Go To Trial:

The AP reports District Judge William C. Wenner has ruled that "prosecutors have enough evidence to send their cases to trial."

Update at 2:11 p.m. ET. Paterno's Grand Jury Testimony:

A court reporter has just finished reading testimony former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno gave a grand jury in January. At one point Paterno said he had waited to report what McQueary had told him because it was the weekend. Here are some highlights tweeted by the Patriot-News:

"Paterno: '(McQueary) did call me on a Saturday morning. I told him to come over to the house.'"

"'Obviously (Sandusky) was doing something with a youngster,' Paterno said."

"Paterno: 'ordinarily would have called someone right away, but it was Saturday and didn't want to interrupt their weekend.'"

"Paterno said he reported incident to Curley. Paterno said he assumed Curley would handle it appropriately."

The AP reports that Paterno said "he was told Sandusky had done something inappropriate with a child but that he didn't press McQueary for details because McQueary was very upset."

Update at 11:15 a.m. ET. Didn't Call Police Because It Was "Delicate In Nature":

McQueary's testimony has concluded. During it, according to NPR's Brady and the Patriot-News, he testified that he was clear with Curley and Schultz that he saw sexual activity. As for why he did not call police, McQueary said "because it was delicate in nature," according to the Patriot-News.

Update at 10:05 a.m. ET. On What He Told Curley And Schultz:

NPR's Brady writes: "McQueary: There's no question in my mind that I conveyed to them that I saw jerry with a boy in the showers ... McQueary (cont): "... 'and that there was severe sexual acts going on and that it was wrong and over the line.' "

Update at 9:50 a.m ET. More From McQueary:

-- The incident occurred in a Penn State locker room. Sandusky and the young boy were allegedly in a shower. McQueary was a 27-year-old graduate assistant at the time. He would later become an assistant coach. He tells the court that he first glimpsed what was happening when he looked at a mirror pointed toward the shower.

-- "McQueary then decided to move toward shower and look in before leaving. Jerry and the boy were apart," the Patriot-News says.

-- "Seeing that they were separated, I thought it was best to leave locker room. Frankly you can't describe what I thought or was feeling," McQueary says, according to the Patriot-News.

-- The next day, McQueary testifies, he told head coach Joe Paterno about "the rough positioning ... but not in very much detail." He did not mention "anal intercourse" out of respect to Paterno, McQueary testifies, according to the Patriot-News.

-- "McQueary says Joe Paterno told him he did the right thing by telling him of the alleged sexual assault by Jerry Sandusky on a child," NPR's Brady writes.

Background on today's hearing, which involves two former Penn State officials accused of perjury:

As the Patriot-News says, today's proceeding does not involve Sandusky (who says he's innocent): Former Penn State officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz are in court as a judge weighs whether the case against them for allegedly lying to a grand jury and not telling authorities about Sandusky's alleged actions should go to trial.

McQueary told the grand jury he saw Sandusky and a young boy engaged in some type of sexual act in a Penn State locker room in 2002. McQueary also said he told Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno about what he saw. Paterno then reportedly told Curley. No one ever contacted police, the grand jury reported.

Paterno and university President Graham Spanier both lost their jobs in the wake of the scandal.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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