HARRISBURG, Pa. _ Former Pennsylvania State University President Graham B. Spanier was ordered Friday to spend at least two months in jail and another two on house arrest for endangering children by failing to report signs that Jerry Sandusky was sexually abusing children.
Judge John Boccabella also sentenced Spanier to pay a $7,500 fine and perform 200 hours of community service. Two other former aides, ex-athletic director Gary Schultz and onetime vice president Tim Curley, got similar two-month jail terms followed by house arrest.
"These men are good people who made a terrible mistake," the judge said. But he also chided them for what he said was an inexcusable failure. "Why no one made a phone call to police ... is beyond me."
The sentences capped what had been the controversial prosecution of ranking university administrators who investigators said had a chance in 2001 to stop a serial sex predator but instead chose to protect the school and their own reputations.
At the center was Spanier, the 69-year-old who once ranked among the nation's most prominent and longest-serving university leaders. From his ouster after Sandusky's arrest in late 2011 through his trial this spring, the former president insisted he was innocent and didn't realize that Sandusky, the longtime assistant to head football coach Joe Paterno, was a threat to children.
A jury in March convicted Spanier of misdemeanor child endangerment _ the same charge to which the others pleaded guilty _ while acquitting him of a second endangerment charge and felony conspiracy. Still, his lawyer has indicated he will appeal the verdict.
In a statement to the judge, Spanier apologized to the victims, the Penn State community and others impacted by his actions. "I deeply regret I didn't intervene more forcefully," he said, in a nod to Sandusky's victims.
A week before that trial, Curley, 63, and Schultz, 67, agreed to plead guilty and testify for the government against Spanier. In sentencing memos filed this week, prosecutors still criticized both, accusing Curley of "astonishing" and unbelievable memory lapses on the witness stand and Schultz for a "puzzling dereliction of duty."
Though they did not recommend a specific sentence, prosecutors agreed that Curley should be allowed to serve any custodial sentence at home because of his health. Curley has battled lung cancer for more than six years. But the judge ordered that Curley serve three of his seven-month term in jail.
Prosecutors Laura Ditka and Patrick Schulte were seeking up to a year in jail for Spanier, contending that he decided to bury the 2001 locker room report from assistant coach Mike McQueary in order to protect the school's image and his reputation.
In court papers Spanier's attorney, Sam Silver, argued that he had suffered enough both in reputation and income. He also cited Spanier's declining health and lengthy public service career in a bid to keep him out of prison.
During the trial, McQueary testified that the conduct he saw in the locker room shower was sexual in nature and that he reported it to Paterno. The head coach then notified Curley and Schultz, who discussed the matter with Spanier.
Prosecutors asserted the men should have acted because they knew about a similar incident in 1998 involving Sandusky showering with a boy. They contended Spanier was the one who ultimately decided not to report McQueary's claim to child welfare authorities, and presented emails to the jury that they contend showed the men hatched a plan to keep the matter quiet.
"The only downside for us is if the message isn't 'heard' and acted upon, and we then become vulnerable for not having reported it," Spanier told Curley and Schultz in a 2001 email exchange, saying it was a "humane and a reasonable way" to deal with Sandusky.
During Friday's hearing, Boccabella said others could have done more to stop or unmask Sandusky, including Penn State's iconic football coach.
"Mr. Paterno, the legendary football coach, could have made that phone call without so much as getting his hands dirty," the judge said. And of McQueary, Boccabella said: "He wasn't a child. He was an adult."
Since breaking in late 2011, the case has roiled Penn State, its supporters and stirred conversations and changes across colleges and athletic programs. The university has already paid out nearly $250 million in settlements, legal bills, fines, public relations and other costs stemming from the scandal. Still ongoing are lawsuits involving the university and Paterno's family, the NCAA, Spanier and Louis Freeh, the former FBI director who oversaw the school's damning internal investigation into the case.
Sandusky is serving a 30- to 60-year prison term after being convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys.
