A convicted child molester, Sandusky hopes to have his 30-year sentence overturned by the appeals court because he claims his defense attorneys bungled his 2012 trial.
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The hearing will take place at Centre County Courthouse near State College, the central Pennsylvania city that is home to Penn State. He’s serving a 30- to 60-year sentence. Several of the incidents occurred in the Penn State locker room.
He was “absolutely surprised”, Sandusky testified Friday.
“Mr. Amendola called me extremely upset and concerned because Matt was going to testify for me and I believe the words he used, he flipped, he changed his story, he would testify against me”, Sandusky said.
“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”.
“I shouldn’t have showered with those kids”, Sandusky reportedly said when broadcaster Bob Costas asked if anything he did was wrong.
The 72-year-old Sandusky is disputing the allegations, saying he has never had oral or anal sex with anyone and finds the thought disgusting.
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) – Jerry Sandusky plans to take the stand at an appeals hearing in a fresh chance to prove his claim he was wrongly convicted four years ago of sexually abusing 10 boys.
During the trial, Amendola told jurors in his opening statement that they would hear from Sandusky.
Sandusky is seeking a retrial under Pennsylvania’s Post-Conviction Relief Act that applies to cases in which new evidence surfaces, constitutional rights have been violated, or the defendant can claim gross negligence by his attorney.
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.
Judge John Cleland set aside three days for this hearing and Friday was the first day.
Lindsay acknowledged it wasn’t clear that Sandusky’s testimony would sway the outcome of the appeals process, but said there were other incentives, too.
“If we don’t get what we want here, we’re going to go Superior Court and then the State Supreme Court, and then you eventually wind up in federal court”, Lindsay said.
The hearing is expected to continue on August 22 and August 23.
Sandusky’s new attorney, Al Lindsay, has argued that both Rominger and Amendola provided inadequate counsel during the trial.
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Formerly beloved Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, who passed away in 2012, was dragged through the mud at the end of his life for his role in allegedly not reporting direct knowledge of Jerry Sandusky’s improprieties to authorities.
