Three former Penn State officials attended a much-delayed hearing to determine whether or not to proceed to trial for perjury, obstruction of justice, endangering the welfare of children, failure to properly report suspected abuse and conspiracy, the Associated Press reported.
Graham Spanier was forced to resign as president during the school's child molestation abuse and cover-up scandal from 2011. Additionally, ex-vice president Gary Schultz and former athletic director Tim Curley were also forced out for their roles in trying to hide the allegations against Jerry Sandusky.
The three men appeared in court Monday in front of a judge who would determine if they actually knew about Sandusky's crimes and actively attempted to keep it quiet. They maintain their innocence and claim they were led to believe Sandusky was guilty of some mild form of horseplay, so they told the former defensive coordinator to stop bringing boys onto school campus.
Sandusky is serving a prison sentence of 30 to 60 years for being found guilty of sexually abusing ten boys from his summer football camp. The camp had once brought in under-privileged children and taught them football. Sandusky had once served as defensive coordinator and assistant coach to Joe Paterno.
The late head coach's role in the scandal is somewhat undetermined as he passed away before any legal proceedings took place. However, he is believed to have been one of many to have had knowledge of the decades-old abuse and had done nothing.
Mike McQueary, a former assistant football coach under Paterno, said he witnessed one instance of abuse involving Sandusky and a young boy in a locker room shower. Spanier and Schultz said they were not made aware the incident was sexual in nature.
McQueary testified Monday that Paterno, a week before he was fired in Nov. 2011, warned him administrators would try to make him a scapegoat.
On the witness stand, McQueary said Paterno told him, "Old Main screwed up," in reference to the school administration's handling of the scandal.
The case will be heard by District Judge William Wenner and is expected to last a few days. Wenner must determine if there is enough evidence to pursue the charges for which the three men were arrested on in Nov. 2011, just after Sandusky was arrested.
A spokesman for the Paterno family did not return a call for comment and the family of the late head coach continues to deny Joe Paterno had anything to do with the school's cover-up.