A judge from the Warren and Forest County Court system will be presiding over The Second Mile’s petition in Centre County court to transfer its assets to a Texas-based organization in its attempt to shut down operations.
Senior Judge William F. Morgan of the Warren and Forest County courts system will be handling the petition, a Warren and Forest County Court Administrator Linda Critzer said Tuesday.
Morgan is taking over the case after Centre County Judge Jonathan Grine recused himself in late June. All Centre County judges have recused themselves from any cases related to the former Penn State defensive coach Jerry Sandusky in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interests that may have resulted from possible connections to Penn State or The Second Mile.
The Second Mile, the charity for underprivileged children founded in 1977 by Sandusky, is attempting to transfer its assets, including $2 million in cash assets, a program endowment and program-related non-cash entities, to Arrow Child and Family Ministries Inc. of Houston, Texas after donor support faltered after child sex abuse charges were filed against Sandusky.
Sandusky was convicted in June on 45 out of 48 counts of child sex abuse.
Arrow Child & Family Ministries is a Christian organization that helps neglected and abused children that have been removed from their homes.
Magisterial District Judge Robert E. Scott of Westmoreland County was chosen to preside over Sandusky’s preliminary hearing in November after it was found that Judge Leslie Dutchcot of Centre County, who arraigned Sandusky and set his bail, volunteered for The Second Mile.
The people referred to as “Victim 3,” “Victim 5” and “Victim 7” in the Sandusky case as well as person known as “John Doe A” filed in June to have a judge stop The Second Mile from transferring its assets saying that if The Second Mile were to transfer all of its funds that it might not be able to pay what it would owe them in liabilities if civil suits are filed in the future.
