In Their First TV Interview about the Trial, Frank Fina and Joe McGettigan Say
Penn State Officials Obstructed Justice and Deserve Prosecution
PREMIERES WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 4 AT 10 p.m. ET/PT
The two men who successfully prosecuted pedophile Jerry Sandusky in the notorious Penn State scandal say he abused dozens more than the 31 victims officials have dealt with so far. Frank Fina, Pennsylvania Chief Deputy Attorney General, and Joe McGettigan, the former federal prosecutor, also tell correspondent Armen Keteyian that former top university officials obstructed justice and deserve to be prosecuted for their crimes. The two men speak to Keteyian in their first television interview for the next edition of 60 MINUTES SPORTS, Wednesday, September 4, at 10 p.m. ET/PT only on SHOWTIME.
For the first time publicly, Fina and McGettigan describe how they built their case against Sandusky, exposing crimes that sullied the shining image of the Penn State University football program and ruined the reputation of its legendary coach, Joe Paterno. The men discuss their investigation, their strategy for prosecuting the serial pedophile and the way they handled the victims, whose testimony was crucial to the conviction.
Asked by Keteyian how many more individuals were abused by the former Penn State assistant football coach, McGettigan replies “There are dozens more.” Fina agrees with that assessment. The men say some of the claims of abuse date back to the 1970s, when Sandusky started “Second Mile,” a charity he began that was devoted to helping at-risk and underprivileged youth.
Charges from 10 of Sandusky’s victims figured in his prosecution in court; another 21 men, including Sandusky’s adopted son, Matt, have come forward.
In the course of their investigation, Fina and McGettigan soon realized that important university officials were not forthcoming about Sandusky, who regularly brought young boys from Second Mile to the university’s facilities. Fina tells Keteyian that top officials at Penn State were not “fully committed to disclosing what the reality is…We came to realize that they’re actively obstructing our investigation…and they had been for many years.”
Penn State University President Graham Spanier, Senior Vice President Gary Schultz and Athletic Director Tim Curley, who no longer work for Penn State, have been charged with perjury and conspiracy to cover up Sandusky’s crimes. “I don’t think there’s any question that that’s what Spanier, Shultz and Curley did,” says Fina. “I investigated that case. They deserve to be charged and I hope justice is served there.”
One thing neither man ever got to do in court was question Sandusky, who chose not to take the witness stand. If Sandusky did, however, McGettigan tells Keteyian what he would have asked him. “Mr. Sandusky, when did it first occur to you that it might be a good idea to be naked in a shower with an eight-year-old boy who you met that day, to pick him up, to hug him, to cover him with soap, and not to say anything to anybody else in charge of that boy? When did you first think that was a great idea?”
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