Penn State Police Deny Witness Mike McQueary Alerted Them
Penn State cops challenge claim by coach Mike McQueary.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. Nov. 16, 2011— -- Police are baffled by Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary's claim that he told them about witnessing an alleged rape of a boy by another coach, Jerry Sandusky, in 2002.
McQueary has been at the center of the furor over the sex abuse scandal at the university, in part because the grand jury report states that after seeing Sandusky sexually assault a boy about 10, McQueary left without doing anything.
The report said McQueary reported the incident to former head coach Joe Paterno the next day.It also stated that no one at the school alerted police to the incident.
McQueary, who is now on administrative leave as a coach on the team, sent emails to friends and players this week saying that he did stop the alleged sex assault, and that he did speak to police about the incident.
"I did stop it, not physically ... but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room," he wrote.
Penn State Police Challenge Account That They Were Told of Alleged Rape
McQueary also wrote in one of the emails, "I did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police.... no one can imagine my thoughts or wants to be in my shoes for those 30-45 seconds ... trust me."
It wasn't clear whether McQueary was referring to the campus police force or the force of the town of State College.
Neither department has a record of McQueary bringing the rape accusation to them.
"Right now, we have no record of any police report filed by Mike McQueary," said Lisa Powers, spokesperson for the university, in an email sent to ABC News today. "This is the first we have heard of it."
The town's police force also has no record of McQueary's allegation.
"He didn't come to State College police," State College Police Chief Thomas King told ABC News. "The crime happened on campus and we don't have jurisdiction on campus."
"We've had no reports (of Sandusky sexually abusing someone) from anybody," he added.
McQueary's testimony to the grand jury that he witnessed the rape is central to the criminal allegations against Sandusky and two university officials. In the grand jury presentment released Nov. 4, McQueary witnessed the rape, left the locker room immediately, and then proceeded to tell his father and head coach Joe Paterno about what he saw.
Paterno told his supervisor, athletic director Tim Curley, who told Vice President of Finance and Business Gary Schultz. None of the officials ever reported the incident to police, which for Curley and Schultz constitutes the crime of failure to report the sexual abuse of a child to authorities.
Curley and Schultz also testified to the grand jury that they were not told a rape occurred, but rather that "something of a sexual nature" or fondling occurred.
If McQueary did go to the police following the incident, questions remain about why a police investigation was not launched and criminal charges were never pressed against Sandusky. If true, it would have been the second time police were notified of Sandusky inappropriately showering with a boy on campus.
Sandusky was previously investigated for showering with a boy on campus in 1998. Then-District Attorney Ray Gricar never pressed charges.
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