Two Penn State officials step down amid scandal

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Two Penn State officials charged with covering up allegations of an explosive child-sex abuse scandal stepped down late Sunday after an emergency meeting of the university’s Board of Trustees.

Penn State athletic director Tim Curley requested to be placed on administrative leave so he could devote the time needed to defend himself against perjury and other charges, university President Graham Spanier said. Gary Schultz, vice president for finance and business, will step down and go back into retirement, Spanier said. He declined to comment to reporters after the meeting.

University spokesman Bill Mahon said resignations of famed football coach Joe Paterno and Spanier weren’t discussed at the meeting.

Curley and Schultz were charged Saturday after a grand jury investigation of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. He’s been charged with sexually abusing eight boys over 15 years. Lawyers for all three men have said they’re innocent.

Sandusky retired in 1999 but continued to use the school’s facilities for his work with The Second Mile, a foundation he established to help at-risk kids. Curley and Schultz were accused of failing to alert police – as required by state law – of their investigation.