BELLEFONTE, Pa. – Former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky proclaimed his innocence and railed against what he said were ineffective lawyers during an appeals hearing Friday that seeks a reversal of his 2012 conviction.
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Sandusky, who is believed to have permanently marred the Penn State football program as well as the reputation of the once beloved Nittany Lions head football coach Joe Paterno, now denies having ever sexually abused the 10 boys for which he was formerly convicted.
“If a textbook were to be written on how not to try a sex-offense case involving overwhelming media attention, this case would provide the model”, Sandusky’s appellate attorney, Al Lindsay, wrote in court filings this year.
Sandusky was convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys and sentenced to decades in state prison.
“I shouldn’t have showered with those kids”, Sandusky reportedly said when broadcaster Bob Costas asked if anything he did was wrong.
In that 2011 interview, Sandusky paused more than 15 seconds to answer whether he is attracted to young boys and, at one point, said, “I enjoy young people”.
Sandusky also addressed his decision not to testify on his own behalf at trial.
“Sandusky [made] a forceful denial of the child molestation charges”, said the AP of the former coach’s hour-long testimony before a judge,”[saying] it wasn’t his idea to waive his right to testify”.
The 72-year-old says his former lawyers didn’t represent him properly during his 2012 trial.
Before his animated testimony, Sandusky entered at the Centre County Court of Common Pleas in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, in shackles and an orange prison jump suit, and flashed a toothy grin as his wife Dottie looked on from the gallery.
The accusations against Sandusky raised questions about whether some Penn State officials, including the now-deceased Paterno, looked the other way for years and failed to alert authorities about Sandusky’s behavior. “At that time he said to me ‘Jerry, they want to interview you, ‘ and he said ‘I think you should do it”.
During the hearing, which is expected to last three days, Sandusky plans to describe conversations with his lawyers concerning the identity of the young man identified only as “Victim 2” in court records. His adopted son, Matt Sandusky, made allegations of abuse outside court at the time of trial.
Amendola confirmed this and stood by the decision during his turn on the stand here Friday.
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Sandusky also testified that he would have taken the stand during his trial but his attorney told him to stay silent. According to Sandusky, Amendola told him 15 minutes before the interview, “They want to interview you, all you have to do is say you are innocent”.
