HARRISBURG — A former Penn State assistant coach will be getting his legal fees paid after winning a whistleblower claim over his treatment by the university after Jerry Sandusky’s child molestation arrest.

Judge Thomas Gavin on Thursday granted Mike McQueary’s lawyers $1.7 million for their work on the case.

He had awarded McQueary nearly $5 million in November. The judge wrote that it would not be reasonable to expect whistleblowers to put their jobs and paychecks at risk in reporting suspected wrongdoing, as well as to fund their own legal representation.

Penn State said its lawyers had not analyzed Gavin’s decision, and McQueary’s lawyer did not respond to a phone message seeking comment. Earlier this week, the university’s lawyers filed an additional document as they seek to have the verdict overturned, damages lowered or a new trial ordered.

McQueary’s father, John McQueary, said Friday his son knew about the judge’s decision but was at the gym and unlikely to offer his reaction.

A jury in October also granted McQueary $7.3 million for defamation and misrepresentation.