“Absolutely not, that idea is absolutely foreign to me” and “disgusting”, said Sandusky, 72, now serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence for a 45-count conviction.
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Sandusky, who is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence at the Greene County prison, is seeking a retrial under Pennsylvania’s Post-Conviction Relief Act that applies to cases confined to newly discovered evidence, constitutional violations and ineffective lawyering.
Sandusky has appealed his convictions and lost twice.
The former Penn State assistant football coach testified for an hour during an appeals hearing in which he’s hoping to have his 45-count conviction thrown out or get a new trial. “Never in the world did I anticipate that response”. 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”.
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, an assistant coach for three decades at Pennsylvania State University under legendary head coach Joe Paterno, testified at the hearing to determine whether his original trial lawyer, Joseph Amendola, failed to provide him with a competent defense. Cleland will rule at a later date on whether the former coach will get a new trial.
Sandusky also testified that he would have taken the stand during his trial but his attorney told him to stay silent.
He also denied ever having anal sex, saying, “Absolutely not”.
Amendola decided against allowing the former coach to take the stand in his own defense when Matt Sandusky made his disclosure, a decision that Jerry Sandusky and Lindsay now contend was ill-advised.
The three-day appeals hearing in Bellefonte will continue on August 22.
Lindsay said Friday’s testimony was important because it gave Sandusky the opportunity to declare his innocence.
An unsuccessful appeal at the common pleas level here would still leave avenues open with higher courts at the state and federal level, he explained.
His lawyer says he expects Sandusky’s testimony to be lengthy.
He testified that his then-defense lawyer Joe Amendola pushed him to do an NBC TV interview with virtually no notice. If Sandusky is successful his charges could be dismissed, but that’s less likely than the chance the judge could order a new trial.
The man has since been paid a settlement by Penn State based on his Sandusky claims.
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Friday marked the first time in his years-long legal saga that Sandusky had the opportunity to do so, he claimed.
