Ex-Penn State President Convicted Of Child Endangerment In Sandusky Case: Reports

Penn State University's former president has been convicted of child endangerment in connection to the Jerry Sandusky scandal but has been acquitted on charges of conspiracy, according to multiple media reports.

Graham B. Spanier, who held his position for 16 years, was forced to resign after charges were pressed against Sandusky, the former assistant football coach, in 2011. Sandusky is currently serving a prison term of 30 to 60 years for 52 counts of sexual abuse of young boys while he was a coach at Penn State and after he had retired.

Sentencing for Spanier will be handed down sometime in the coming weeks. According to PennLive, Spanier likely faces between three months and one year in prison, although it could be more.

The conviction indicates that Spanier failed to protect the safety of a child that was in his care. The prosecution alleged that Spanier was told of a claim in 2001 that Sandusky had been showering with a boy after normal operating hours on campus, and Spanier failed to properly act on it, Philly.com reports.

The defense argued that Spanier did not think the information reported to him in 2001 was sexual in nature, reports state.

The university has since faced a range of penalties and sanctions connected to the Sandusky case, including a historically high $2.4 million fine for late reporting of sex crimes.

>>Joe Paterno Told About Jerry Sandusky Abuse In 1976: Court Documents

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Judge John Boccabella reportedly allowed Spanier to go free on bail after the verdict.

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