Maybe from a purely legal standpoint but otherwise no. It's quite likely that C&S accepted a plea bargain in spite of the fact that they believed they were innocent. The plea came with minimal charges while being found guilty by a sympathetic jury could have resulted in 10+ years.
Plus the legal bills would have bankrupted them and destroyed their families. This aspect of our legal system is often used as a cudgel by prosecutors nationwide at all levels.
They may have convinced themselves that they were not guilty. Most convicts in prison today will tell you they are innocent but they pled guilty nonetheless and Spanier rolled the dice and lost and all three went to prison. Therefore, the institution is linked to Sandusky's crimes by those convictions of their most senior leaders. The conviction of Spanier also resulted in a dismissal of his defamation suit against Freeh.
I thought Penn State had to foot their legal bills plus weren't some of the Alumni Trustees (Lord) were footing their legal bills as well.
