Pa. Attorney General's Office serves subpoenas on Penn State employees

State prosecutors have served subpoenas to an unknown number of Pennsylvania State University officials, presumably in relation to the ongoing child sex-abuse case against a former university assistant football coach, according to media reports and an announcement released by the university.

Penn State General Counsel Cynthia Baldwin stated in a brief announcement on the university’s website Friday that the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office issued the subpoenas to a “number” of Penn State employees.

The exact number is not specified, nor is the specific nature of the information sought by those who have been subpoenaed.

“We believe it is appropriate that it be left up to them [the employees] and their attorneys whether to reveal their identities,” Baldwin’s statement reads. “The University will have no further comment, consistent with our past policies regarding the ongoing investigations.”

In February, the Centre Daily Times newspaper reported, Penn State officials announced that the university received a subpoena from federal investigators relating to the case against former defensive football coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who faces child molestation charges relating to his alleged abuse of 10 underage boys.

Sandusky, 68, was arrested late last year and charged in a 52-count indictment following a grand jury investigation.

He is expected to go on trial later this spring.

In related news, Penn State President Rodney Erickson updated the school’s Board of Trustees Friday on the progress being made on the five preliminary recommendations made to the school by Louis Freeh, a former FBI director and federal judge, who was retained by the university to lead an internal investigation into the sex-abuse allegations coming out of the Sandusky scandal.

In an announcement posted to the school’s website, Erickson said the recommendations are designed to improve university structures and protocols involved in the identification and reporting of crimes related to child sex abuse.

“As I have said in the past, we will continue to provide whatever resources, access and information are needed to support Judge Freeh’s investigation,” Erickson said in his statement. “These preliminary recommendations have provided us with a strong set of first steps to enhance safety for everyone, and especially children, who visit the University. We are committed to the full implementation of Judge Freeh’s recommendations and are continuing our work to that end.”

The five recommendations are as follows: strengthen policies and programs involving minors, prompt reporting of abuse and sexual misconduct, compliance with the training and reporting requirements of the Clery Act, administrative reforms, and athletic department security arrangements.