HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Longtime Penn State head coach Joe Paterno said that the university mishandled its response to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, a former assistant coach testified Monday during a hearing for three top school officials accused of a cover-up.
Star witness Mike McQueary appeared in a courtroom for the third time since Sandusky's November 2011 arrest and told the court that top school officials knew that he had seen Sandusky molesting a boy in a locker room shower.
But the former Penn State assistant coach and quarterback also delivered some unexpected testimony: that the late Hall of Fame coach had told him over the years that "Old Main screwed up" -- referring to university administrators -- in how it responded to McQueary's allegation against Sandusky.
Pressed by defense lawyers on his discussions of the subject, McQueary brought up a specific exchange at football practice in the hours before Paterno's firing on Nov. 9, 2011 -- four days after Sandusky's arrest.
He recalled the head coach saying the school would come down hard on McQueary and try to make him a scapegoat. Paterno also advised McQueary not to trust the administration or then-university counsel Cynthia Baldwin, the former assistant testified. (more...)
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