Former judge in Curley, Schultz, Spanier case dies

The judge who was originally slated to hear the criminal case against three Penn State executives has died.

According to a Dauphin County press release, Judge Todd Hoover died after a long illness. Hoover had retired in June.

“This is a sad and tragic loss for our courthouse family as well as the Hoover family and the Dauphin County legal community,” said Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Richard Lewis in the release.

“Not only was Judge Hoover a superb jurist, he was also a man of deep faith, infinite kindness and sincere compassion. A true gentleman, his contributions to the court system were admired and respected, especially in matters involving child welfare, family law and Orphans Court matters. During his tenure as president judge, he led our court with grace and distinction,” Lewis said.

Hoover had been the judge assigned to the criminal cases of former Penn State president Graham Spanier, former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz. The three are charged with endangering the welfare of children, failure to report and conspiracy, charges rising from testimony they gave to the grand jury in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case.

He was also requested to serve as the out-of-county judge in the lawsuit Spanier brought against former FBI director Louis Freeh in Centre County. However, the same day that Freeh made that request, an announcement was made that Hoover was taking a medical leave of absence from the bench.

Hoover was first elected judge in 1993. He served as Dauphin County president judge from 2010 to 2014.

This story was originally published August 24, 2016 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Former judge in Curley, Schultz, Spanier case dies."