Pennsylvania prosecutors are considering criminal charges against former top Penn State University officials for allegedly concealing what they knew about the conduct of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, law enforcement told NBC News.
As Sandusky's trial began on 52 counts alleging that he abused 10 boys over 15 years, the sources said investigators had obtained new evidence, including internal university email messages and other documents.
The documents show that former university President Graham Spanier and others discussed whether they were obligated to tell authorities about a 2001 allegation involving a late-night encounter in a Penn State shower room between Sandusky and a young boy, both of whom were naked, the sources said.
The documents allegedly show that university officials even did legal research on whether such conduct might be a crime, but in one email exchange, Spanier and former university Vice President Gary Schultz agreed that it would be "humane to Sandusky" not to inform social services agencies, two sources said.
