HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Second Mile charity founded by Jerry Sandusky is under investigation by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office as part of a probe into what the group's officers may have known about the former Penn State coach's alleged sexual abuse of young boys, officials tell FoxNews.com.
Sources said among the investigation's aims are to determine when Second Mile officials became aware of Sandusky's alleged behavior; whether charity funds were used to lavish gifts on the boys involved, and if the alleged sexual abuse occurred at Second Mile locations across the state.
The probe into the charity was described as a second prong of the larger investigation into the allegations against Sandusky, Nicholas Winkler, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, said.
"The AG is now running point on this, the Second Mile investigation," Winkler said.
Sandusky, 67, is charged with sexually abusing at least eight young boys over 15 years, including in some cases on the Penn State campus. He is accused of preying on boys he met through his charity, which he founded in 1977 to help at-risk youths.
He admitted Monday in a TV interview that he had showered with boys and "horsed around," but he denied doing anything sexual and said he is innocent of the charges.
Winkler said the State Department and the attorney general have shared jurisdiction over the investigation of the embattled charity, but the attorney general took over the case "fairly recently."
The Department of State's Bureau of Charitable Organizations director, Michael Patterson, also confirmed to FoxNews.com that Second Mile was under investigation.
Both officials said the attorney general's office had requested and received all available records relating to the charity's financial filings and other incorporation documents, all of which include the names of the charity's state-wide board of directors and other employees.
They said everything in the documents would be scrutinized, including grant recipients like the University of Pittsburgh, which received $15,000 grant "children" services from the Second Mile in 2009. Camps and activities were held at Penn State satellite campuses all around the state, according to the documents.
The investigation also will look at whether Sandusky misappropriated charitable funds -- checking, for example, if he purchased gifts for boys he is accused of molesting.
A spokesman for the attorney general's office declined to comment on the investigation. "We can't identify potential targets of a grand jury investigation," Nils Frederiksen said in a meeting with FoxNews.com on Tuesday
The longtime head of Second Mile, Jack Raykovitz, resigned on Sunday, the latest casualty in the ongoing fallout of the Sandusky case. But Raykovitz's wife, Katherine Genovese -- the second-highest-paid Second Mile employee -- remains in her position at the charity's State College, Pa., office.
Second Mile officials had not responded to a request for comment as of Tuesday evening.
In its most recent tax filings, Second Mile listed Raykovitz as the president/CEO, responsible for solicitation activities. Genovese is listed as the vice president of programs. Raykovitz is also listed as the individual responsible for custody of financial records.
According the grand jury report indicting Sandusky, Raykovitz was informed in 2002 of a complaint regarding an incident involving Sandusky and a young boy that had allegedly occurred in the Penn State football showers. The incident was reported by Tim Curley, at the time Penn State's athletic director. Curley has since also been charged with lying to the grand jury.
Raykovitz said he was unaware of the severity of the allegation in 2002, and that he acted when Sandusky told him he was being investigated in 2008. Raykovitz said the charity then banned Sandusky from participating in activities with children.
Longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was fired last week in the wake of Sandusky's arrest, as was university president Graham Spanier.
Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz also was charged with perjury, and he and Curley both have since left their posts.
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