STATE COLLEGE, PA (RNN) – Penn State President Rodney Erickson announced Friday that assistant coach Mike McQueary has been placed on paid administrative leave.
McQueary was named in a grand jury report as an eye witness to sexual abuse allegedly committed by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky.
“It became clear that Coach McQueary could not function in this role under these circumstances,” Erickson said.
When asked if McQueary would be fired, Erickson said, “There are complexities to that issue that I’m not prepared to go into at this particular point.”
Sandusky has been charged with 40 counts of child sexual abuse on children as young as 7 or 8 years old. In the wake of the scandal, two school administrators were arrested and charged with obstruction of justice; and school president Daniel Spanier and famed head football coach Joe Paterno were fired.
Penn State will play their last home game on Saturday against Nebraska. University police beefed up security for the game after students demonstrating support for Paterno began to riot and overturned a news truck.
University officials announced Thursday that McQueary would not be present for Saturday’s game due to threats that had been made against him. There has been a great deal of public outcry for McQueary to be fired and criminally charged in the case.
The grand jury report indicates that McQueary walked in on the alleged rape of a boy in the football facility showers. He then left the building and called his father, who told him to report the incident to Paterno.
What McQueen said to Paterno has been debated. However, McQueary did not call police or attempt to stop the abuse. It is not known what became of the boy.
During his statement before the media, Erickson encouraged other individuals who may have been victims of the abuse alleged to have been committed by Sandusky to contact authorities.
“Certainly we’re well aware that many victims of child abuse are not willing to come forward. I want to say very publicly that we would encourage anyone who has been abused in the context of this particular situation to not be afraid,” he said.
http://www.19actionnews.com/story/16019852/mcqueary-placed-on-paid-leave
Article Courtesy of WOIO 19 Action News
