Ex-Penn State President Guilty On One Count Of Child Endangerment

After more than 12 hours of deliberations, a jury in Dauphin County (Pa.) this afternoon found former Penn State president Graham Spanier guilty on a single count of child endangerment, a misdemeanor.

The conviction stems from Spanier’s and other Penn State officials’ failure to act after then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary informed them he witnessed Sandusky engaged in what McQueary described as sexual activity with a boy in a campus shower back in 2001.

Spanier was also found not guilty of a more serious charge of conspiracy in addition to a second count of child endangerment.

In a nutshell, the jury found Spanier negligent.

In a surprise move, Spanier did not testify during the trial, which went to the jury after two days of testimony from 15 prosecution witnesses, including former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and ex-PSU vice president Gary Schultz. Both Curley and Schultz had pled guilty last week to the same single charge of endangering the welfare of children.

Spanier, Curley, and Schultz were initially charged with a total of 22 counts, including 14 felonies, most of which were whittled down during a lengthy pre-trial appeals process. Like Curley and Schultz, Spanier faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.