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Important records from the charity founded by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky are missing and may have been stolen, The New York Times reported.
Investigators in the Penn State sexual abuse case are worried that the missing files from the Second Mile may hinder them from determining if Sandusky used charity resources, such as expense accounts, travel and gifts, to recruit new victims or possibly pay them to remain silent, according to the newspaper.
The Times also reported that several members on the charity's board of directors were surprised when they discovered that records from roughly 2000-2003 were missing.
According to the newspaper, one of the keys to breaking the case open was a random reference in an Internet chat room about Penn State athletics that said a football coach years earlier "might have seen something ugly, but kept silent."
Investigators concluded from the reference that the coach was Mike McQueary, who as a graduate student had allegedly witnessed Sandusky sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in a shower at Penn State in 2002.
McQueary eventually disclosed the information to investigators, giving them the lead they were seeking. He remains a key witness in the case.
On Nov. 8, McQueary wrote in an email to a friend that he'd talked to police about the allegation against Sandusky but didn't specify which department.
However, both campus and city police denied that claim, saying they never received any report from McQueary surrounding the alleged shower incident.
Sandusky faces 40 counts of sexual abuse, including 21 felony counts, and a maximum sentence of 460 years in jail.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
