Conflicting reports of Penn State witness

Penn State says it has found no record of Mike McQueary’s filing a police report with campus police after he said he saw former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky allegedly raping a 10-year-old boy in a shower in the football building.

Responding to an email from McQueary obtained by the Morning Call that says the former graduate assistant stopped Sandusky and contacted police, Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said Wednesday the revelations are news to her.

“Since hearing of the news reports relating to Mike McQueary, we are looking into the matter,” Powers said in a statement. “Right now, we have no record of any police report filed by Mike McQueary. This is the first we have heard of it.”

DOCUMENT: Read the grand jury report

In the email to a friend, McQueary wrote that he “did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police” following the alleged incident involving Sandusky, a longtime Penn State assistant, and a boy. McQueary also wrote that he “is 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,” wrote McQueary, now an assistant coach put on administrative leave.

Attempts to contact McQueary on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

State College Police Chief Tom King said his department never received a report from McQueary. Then again, they wouldn’t: Penn State’s university police department is fully accredited and would have jurisdiction over the alleged incident.

“There’d be no reason to come to us,” he said. “Any time we do get a call, we immediately refer it to Penn State police.”

So far, only one person has contacted State College police with information on Sandusky, and officers forwarded the message to state police, who are handling the investigation, King said. The university police referred all comments to Powers.

According to a grand jury report by the state Attorney General’s Office, a graduate assistant later identified as McQueary said he saw a boy “being subjected to anal intercourse” by a naked Sandusky in a shower at the Louis E. Lasch Football Building in March 2002. The graduate assistant left “immediately and called his father, according to the report. His father told him to leave the building and come to his home, the report says.

In the email dated Nov. 8, McQueary said, “I did stop it, not physically, but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room.”

McQueary’s father, John McQueary, declined to comment Wednesday afternoon, saying he has been instructed by the attorney general’s office not to talk.

Police say Sandusky abused eight boys over 15 years, promising them gifts but molesting them in his Centre County home and Penn State showers, among other locations. He was arrested Nov. 5, sparking a firestorm in State College that has forced the resignation of Penn State president Graham Spanier, the firing of longtime coach Joe Paterno and the benching of McQueary.

Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz, who had oversight of the police department, and Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley also face charges of perjury and failure to report child abuse. The grand jury concluded they lied under oath, downplaying their recollections of Sandusky’s 2002 conduct in testimony.

FULL COVERAGE: Penn State scandal

andrew.mcgill@mcall.com