An appeals hearing for convicted child molester and disgraced Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky ended Friday with his attorney proclaiming from the courthouse steps here that his client is innocent and desperate to prove as much.
Advertisement
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, a former Penn State University assistant football coach, was found guilty in June of 2012 of 45 counts related to the sexual abuse of children.
Matt Sandusky, who told the public during the trial that his father sexually abused him, too, was one of the men who filed a civil lawsuit against Penn State alleging its officials – including coaching legend Joe Paterno – did not act on information they received regarding Jerry Sandusky’s abuse.
With the world watching four years ago, Jerry Sandusky kept silent, opting not to testify in his defense before a jury that labeled him a serial sexual predator.
Sandusky’s hearing will continue on August 22 and August 23 in the Centre County Courthouse.
Sandusky previously lost direct appeals to state Superior and Supreme courts.
Before taking the stand, Sandusky smiled at his wife and supporters – twice placing his hand over his heart.
Among the issues are decisions not to have him testify at trial and how the defense responded to a surprise claim midway through the trial by an adopted son who says Sandusky molested him.
The former Penn State assistant said he was denied a fair trial.
“I believe there are two sides of this story”, Sandusky said.
The 72-year-old Sandusky didn’t testify at his trial in 2012.
“It became clear to me that there was no overall strategy developed, discussed or explained”, he said in his affidavit.
Excerpts showing Sandusky struggling to answer questions about his alleged attraction to young boys were shown at his 2012 trial.
In an affidavit filed with Cleland’s court in March, Rominger described a harried run-up to Sandusky’s trial in which he and Amendola had little time to review a mountain of witness statements and discovery material.
Sandusky founded a charity for at-risk children where prosecutors say he recruited victims.
Sandusky’s new attorney, Al Lindsay, has argued that both Rominger and Amendola provided inadequate counsel during the trial.
Share with Us – We’d love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article, and smart, constructive criticism.
Advertisement
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
