Police: McQueary didn't report abuse to us

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, right, and assistant coach Mike McQueary walk the field during practice, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, in State College, Pa. / Michael R. Sisak/AP/The Citizens' Voice

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Both Penn State's campus police and the State College police department say they never received reports from a then-Penn State graduate assistant related to an allegation of child sexual abuse against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Mike McQueary wrote in an email to a friend that was made available to The Associated Press that he had discussions with police after he said he witnessed a 10- or 11-year-old boy being raped in the Penn State locker room in 2002. McQueary testified in a grand jury investigation that led to authorities charging Sandusky with abusing eight boys over 15 years.

Complete Coverage: The Penn State Scandal
McQueary email: I did go to the police

In the email, McQueary did not specify which police department he spoke to.

But a spokesperson for Penn State's campus police told CBS News that they never received a sex abuse report from McQueary. Separately, State College Police Chief Thomas R. King told CBS News that his department has no record of ever being contacted by McQueary regarding allged sex abuse.

The university also has its own police force. Penn State administrators said they were looking into whether McQueary contacted campus police. A university official also told CBS News Tuesday that, to her knowledge, no police report was filed.

The Nov. 8 email from McQueary to a friend said: "I did stop it, not physically ... but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room ... I did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police .... no one can imagine my thoughts or wants to be in my shoes for those 30-45 seconds ... trust me."

McQueary is a former player and current assistant coach who was placed on indefinite paid leave last week after school officials said he had received threats. Emails sent to him seeking comment were not immediately returned.

He told the friend that he felt he was "getting hammered for handling this the right way ... or what I thought at the time was right ... I had to make tough impacting quick decisions."

Speaking publicly for the first time Tuesday, McQueary told CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian that his emotions were "all over the place" and he was "just kind of shaken." But he wouldn't comment further on the scandal, saying "the whole process has to play out. I just don't have anything else to say."

McQueary breaks his silence

The grand jury report issued Nov. 5, the day Sandusky was charged with 40 criminal counts for alleged sexual abuse against eight boys over 15 years, goes into considerable detail about the March 2002 incident. McQueary was putting sneakers into his locker late on a Friday night when, the jury said, he saw Sandusky having sex with a young boy.

He left, "distraught," and contacted his father and then head coach Joe Paterno, jurors said. McQueary later met with athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz to describe what he had seen, the grand jury said. Curley and Schultz are charged with not alerting authorities to the report and lying to the grand jury. Paterno lost his job last week, but has not been charged and is not considered a target of investigators, state prosecutors have said.

As a result of the scandal, Curley and Schultz have left their posts, and university president Graham Spanier was also forced out of his job. U.S. Steel said Tuesday Spanier has resigned from its board, where he had been a director since 2008.

On Monday night, Sandusky said in an NBC television interview that he showered with and "horsed around" with boys but was innocent of criminal charges, a statement that has stunned legal observers. Sandusky's comments, they said, could be used by prosecutors trying to convict him of child sex-abuse charges.

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Who's who in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal

The state grand jury investigation that led to Sandusky's arrest followed a trail that goes back at least 13 years, leading to questions from some quarters about whether law enforcement moved too slowly.

The grand jury report detailed a 1998 investigation by Penn State police, begun after an 11-year-old boy's mother complained that Sandusky had showered with her son in the football facilities. Then-District Attorney Ray Gricar declined to file charges.

Another apparent missed opportunity came in the 2002 incident that McQueary reported to Paterno.

[pamom2002]

really? the police don't have a recored of it? shocking! nothing like a cover up taken care of by a giant shredder!

[knightames]

Why is it not surprising that the campus police do not have a record of speaking with Mike McQueary? Joe Paterno has already talked about how they preferred to handle police problems internally and the campus police would cover (i.e., no police report for the media to find). From the B10 media days:

"I used to get a telephone call from one of the campus cops would say, "Hey, coach, you better come up here and get ahold of 'Mike.' Too much to drink, making a lot of noise."

"I'd go up at 2:00 in the morning, grab Mike, put him in bed, get him up at 5:00 in the morning, run his rear-end off for a week. You guys never heard about it."

[Harden_Tar]

Let's say he did report it. If I report something like that to the cops and absolutely NOTHING happens, I am back in there with witnesses asking them why. I agree, campus cops are not exactly the pinnacle of law enforcement. They write parking tickets to make money for the university.

[Imthaid2]

Too bad police have lost ALL credibility and cannot be believed. Not that I believe McQueary, I will just NEVER believe any pig. They are too corrupt, abusive and continually lie under oath.

[Migrant3]

Someone is lying. If McQueary failed to report the incident to the police, then he is as guilty as Joe Paterno and should be fired as well.

[kbbpll]

By "the police", McQueer probably means Gary Schultz, who oversaw campus police as part of his position, and who testified to the grand jury that "inappropriate conduct" had made its way into his brain cells after his ears heard "anal intercourse". The CYA going on here makes the Catholic Church look like choir boys.

[cbsking]

all anyone has to do is read the facts and this one is pretty easy. the state of pennsylvania is 100% at fault. its not about mcqueary or paterno, in 1998 the pennsylvania dept of child welfare investigated sandusky, who at that time addmited to a childs mother that he showered with her son. jerry lauro, ron schreffler, and ralph ralston were the investigators, paid by the state to protect children. the centre county da refused to file charges. this is in 1998. why dont we hear more about the failure of the state to do thier jobs when the state knew something was going on? the state allowed this monster to continue until it was seen by mcqueary and reported, by him and by paterno.thats right. we may not like the way it was reported, but it was lawfully reported. thats why paterno has a lawyer, because he will get paid for being fired.it is not up to joe paterno to run the pennsylvania dept of child welfare. the state knew, and investigated this in 1998. someone pretty high up will get hung for this one.

[voxpopulus]

This incident got more and more watered down the higher up the chain it went. And Paterno knew that and was part of it.

[kbbpll]

The 1998 incident was showering and sick contact but no sex, and produced an extensive police report. The DA probably rightly concluded that there was nothing rising to the level of criminal behavior. The 2002 incident was never "lawfully" reported to anyone at the state or police level. You have not read the facts.

[voxpopulus]

It is very possible that McQueary mentioned it to someone in the police force and was told "If you've already reported it, let official channels deal with it." The police have a lot of wiggle room here.

[Transatlantique]

I find that awfully McQuear, don't you? I think I'd change my name.

[hillbillyvol]

The police would never cover their own arshes when it comes to a legendary coach or program like Penn State's, would they. I find it interesting that the issue did not hit the press until Joe Pa won the one game that made him the winningest coach in NCAA divI history.