Pa. prosecutors ask judge to reject Jerry Sandusky’s latest request for a new trial
Pennsylvania prosecutors asked a judge last week to reject former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky’s latest request for a new trial, writing his claims carry little weight and amount to clutter and noise.
The allegations laid out in Sandusky’s nearly 600-page appeal filed last month have already been thoroughly litigated, reviewed and rejected, Senior Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Buck wrote.
Sandusky, 79, was convicted of child sexual abuse after a 2012 trial. Victims said at trial that Sandusky subjected them to a range of abuse, from grooming to violent attacks.
Statements read at a November 2019 resentencing hearing from five of those molested by Sandusky detailed humiliation, an inability to trust others and attempted suicides.
“At its core, the latest motion is just another attempt to try to impeach the credibility of the young men who a jury of Sandusky’s peers found to be credible and worthy of belief,” Buck wrote.
Defense lawyer Al Lindsay Jr. argued evidence discovered after Sandusky’s trial backed up claims that attorneys, counselors and police coached people into making allegations.
Sandusky’s request also alleged an improper meeting between judges, Pennsylvania prosecutors and his previous attorney before his preliminary hearing in 2011.
The claims, prosecutors wrote, failed to cover new ground. Some amounted to “character assassinations,” while others — even if accepted as true — would not have led to a different verdict.
“Sandusky is simply searching for yet another way to challenge the credibility of his victims, an issue that has been exhaustively litigated,” Buck wrote.
Sandusky’s 2011 arrest prompted the firing of Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno. The university has paid more than $100 million to people who said they were abused by him.
Sandusky is serving a minimum of 30 years in state prison. He is detained at Laurel Highlands state prison in Somerset County. A hearing is scheduled for May 25.
