Former Penn State officials to go on trial next year

Two former Penn State officials accused of lying to a grand jury about allegations of sexual abuse against Jerry Sandusky will go on trial early next year.

A judge Friday ordered jury selection to begin Jan. 7 for the trial. Dauphin County Judge Todd A. Hoover is still considering a request from the defendants’ lawyers to have the charges thrown out, but he is not expected to do so.

Tim Curley, on leave from his position as the school’s athletic director, and Gary Schultz, a retired senior vice president with the school, face perjury charges after a grand jury found that they did not tell the truth when they recounted what then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary told them about an assault he witnessed Sandusky commit in a locker room shower in 2001.

Curley and Schultz have maintained that McQueary’s account of the incident led them to believe Sandusky’s conduct was inappropriate, but not a crime. Lawyers for the two former officials argued in court Thursday that their clients should not be tried for their opinions.

McQueary, who went on to become an assistant football coach at Penn State, testified about the incident at Sandusky’s trial. Sandusky was convicted in June of assaulting 10 boys.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

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