Newly uncovered emails in the Jerry Sandusky case show that Penn State officials were on the verge of blowing the whistle on him -- but changed their minds after talking to coach Joe Paterno.



The missives, obtained by CNN, seemingly contradict the late Paterno's claim that he alerted higher-ups to a report of Sandusky showering with a boy and had nothing to do with the matter after that.



They could also spell trouble for a trio of university bigwigs: Athletic Director Tom Curley and Senior Vice President Gary Schultz, who have been charged with perjury, and former college president Graham Spanier, who was forced to resign after the scandal broke.



Tom Kline, a lawyer for one of the molestation victims, called the emails "shocking" and told CNN they showed a "concerted, conscious, collaborative effort" to keep Sandusky's crimes a secret from authorities.



The emails were sent in 2001, two weeks after assistant coach Mike McQueary found Sandusky and a boy in a shower - and three years after another shower incident.



They reveal that Penn State administrators planned to alert Sandusky's Second Mile charity and the state Department of Public Welfare, but dropped that idea after consulting with Paterno.



"After giving it more thought and talking it over with Joe yesterday, I am uncomfortable with what we agreed were the next steps," Curley wrote to Schultz and Spanier.