HARRISBURG – Former Penn State President Graham Spanier was convicted today by a Dauphin County jury of endangering the welfare of children, culminating a six-year investigation of sexual abuse of children at Penn State by a former football coach.
Spanier was convicted of one misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of children, a conviction which carries a potential sentence of 5 years and a $10,000 fine.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro held a press conference with prosecutors Laura Ditka and Patrick Schulte in the Dauphin County courthouse in Harrisburg immediately following the jury’s verdict.
“No one is above the law, especially when it comes to the welfare of children, and my office will hold anyone accountable who abuses or fails to protect children,” Attorney General Shapiro said at the news conference.
“I want to thank and commend our outstanding prosecutors, Laura Ditka, Patrick Schulte and Greg Simatic for their work in the courtroom here and all of their efforts leading up to this verdict.”
“Let me also recognize Agents Tony Sassano, Jess Eger, Jess Horner and the agents and other attorneys in the Office of Attorney General who spent years working on multiple investigations involving abuse in this case. I am grateful to them for their exemplary service to our Commonwealth.”
The verdict in the Spanier case follows earlier guilty pleas for endangering the welfare of children by former Penn State administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, and the earlier conviction of former coach Jerry Sandusky for multiple counts of sexual abuse of children. Sandusky is serving a 30-to-60 year prison sentence for his crimes.
