Penn State asks court to put Mike McQueary’s suit on hold
Penn State University assistant football coach Mike McQueary arrives at the Centre County Courthouse to testify in the child sexual abuse trial of former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky in Bellefonte, Pa., Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Sandusky is charged with 52 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a period of 15 years. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Credit: AP
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State is asking Centre County court to put on hold the lawsuit former coach Mike McQueary filed against the university while the criminal trial of two former administrators is under way.
In a motion filed Monday, Penn State argues that the university “would be severely prejudiced” if the suit were allowed to move forward while the criminal proceedings against former Athletic Director Tim Curley and retired Senior Vice President Gary Schultz are still going on. Curley and Schultz are facing charges of perjury for testimony they gave to the grand jury investigating Jerry Sandusky and failure to report child abuse. They are scheduled to stand trial in January in Dauphin County Court.
In 2001, McQueary walked in on Sandusky naked in a campus shower with a boy. He reported the incident to Joe Paterno and later discussed it with Schultz and Curley. They maintain their innocence, and their attorneys have raised questions about what exactly McQueary told them.
Penn State President Rodney Erickson has since said that McQueary’s contract has ended and wasn’t renewed.
McQueary filed a suit asking for $4 million in lost wages along with compensation for legal costs. He says mistreatment by the university has damaged his reputation and cost him that much in future earnings.
Penn State spokesman David La Torre said the motion “is a legal filing that, if granted, would defer this case while criminal proceedings against Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz proceed.
“The stay would help ensure that a fair trial can proceed in all matters. The university will assert a vigorous defense against the allegations and claims contained in the McQueary complaint,” La Torre said.
