A former Penn State early childhood and special education professor faces more than 25 counts of child molestation, with accusations of incidents dating back about 30 years.

John T. Neisworth, 67, has been indicted and will stand trial April 19 in Cecil County, Md., a state that does not have a statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said Neisworth retired from classroom instruction at Penn State in 2002 but remains affiliated with the university through a distance-education course in behavioral analysis designed for practicing teachers.

Kendig said the university was not taking any investigative action at this time, but a conviction could prompt the university to look into the issue.

"Certainly we'd have to look at any charges like that very closely," he said. "I think that we look at each case individually."

The alleged victim, whose name is being withheld by The Daily Collegian, currently resides in Arizona and said Neisworth and two other men repeatedly abused him in several states, including Pennsylvania, while Neisworth was teaching at Penn State. He said the incidents continued between the time that he was 12 and 15 years old.

"There were incidents that occurred right near the college," he said. "He was a professor during this time."

The other men, Karl Goeke, 58, of Los Angeles, and David A. Smith, 64, of Pittsburgh, face similar charges.

Neither Neisworth nor his lawyer Thomas Gosse, who represented Neisworth in a related civil case, could be reached for comment.

The civil suit was filed against Neisworth, Goeke and Smith in New Jersey and was settled with a cash settlement in favor of the alleged victim.

Neisworth is considered an expert on early childhood education and autism, and is the author of at least a dozen books on the same subjects.

"As a faculty member he had a perfect record and was very highly regarded," Kendig said.

During his time at Penn State, Neisworth worked primarily with university students and did not work with children in any clinical research, Kendig added.

Because the university employed Neisworth before background checks became a policy, Penn State would not have known about a previous criminal record, Kendig said.

Currently, all applicants for a tenured position are subject to a background check, which is designed to specifically eliminate applicants convicted of felonies, misappropriation of funds and sexual misconduct, Kendig said.

The alleged victim said he had suppressed his memory of the incidents until about six years ago.

He said he was not a university student but that the abuse began because his family lived near Goeke, who introduced him to Neisworth and Smith.

Sexual abuse occurred during visits with Neisworth in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but the statute of limitations on child molestation had expired in those states by the time authorities had been contacted, the alleged victim said.

Alleged abuse had also occurred in Maryland, so the victim approached authorities in that state.

The university is considering this case "a closed matter" until it is settled in court, Kendig said.

"If there are any new charges involving [Neisworth], I think we need to let that play out a bit," he added.

--The Associated Press contributed to this report