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Ex football coach convicted in US sex abuse case
Source: Agencies |
June 23, 2012, Saturday
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FORMER assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted yesterday of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years, accusations that shocked the public in a nation that reveres college sports and led to the firing of Penn State University's beloved longtime head coach, Joe Paterno.
Sandusky, a 68-year-old retired defensive coach who was once Paterno's heir apparent, was found guilty of yesterday of 48 counts. He faces life in prison at sentencing, which is weeks away.
Sandusky showed little emotion as the verdict was read. The judge ordered him to be taken to the county jail to await sentencing in about three months.
Eight young men testified in a central Pennsylvania courtroom about a range of abuse, from kissing and massages to groping, oral sex and anal rape. For two other alleged victims, prosecutors relied on testimony from a university janitor and then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary, whose account of a sexual encounter between Sandusky and a boy of about 10 ultimately led to Paterno's dismissal and the university president's ouster.
Sandusky did not take the stand in his own defense.
Penn State's hallowed football program plays its home games in State College, a small community of about 40,000 with the nickname Happy Valley. The contests draw more than 100,000 people and the team's success has raked in millions of dollars in television broadcast rights, merchandising and more.
The Penn State program also captured fans' imaginations because it had a reputation of being honorable and avoiding the usual pitfalls of American college sports, including academic cheating by athletes to meet the required grades.
Allegations were made, however, that Sandusky had for years molested young boys and that the college's administration had hushed it up or ignored it to protect the sports program shattered the public university's image.
Sandusky had repeatedly denied the allegations, and his defense suggested that his accusers had a financial motive to make up stories, years after the fact. His attorney also painted Sandusky as the victim of overzealous police investigators who coached the alleged victims into giving accusatory statements.
But jurors believed the testimony that, in the words of lead prosecutor Joseph McGettigan III, Sandusky was a "predatory pedophile."
One accuser testified that Sandusky molested him in the locker-room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games. He also said Sandusky had sent him "creepy love letters."
Another spoke of forced oral sex and instances of rape in the basement of Sandusky's home, including abuse that left him bleeding. He said he once tried to scream for help, knowing that Sandusky's wife was upstairs, but figured the basement must be soundproof.
Another, a foster child, said Sandusky warned that he would never see his family again if he ever told anyone what happened.
And just hours after the case went to jurors, lawyers for one of Sandusky's six adopted children, Matt, said he had told authorities that his father abused him.
Matt Sandusky had been prepared to testify on behalf of prosecutors, the statement said. The lawyers said they arranged for Matt Sandusky to meet with law enforcement officials but did not explain why he didn't testify.
"This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy," the statement said. It didn't go into details about his allegations.
Defense witnesses, including Jerry Sandusky's wife, Dottie, described his philanthropic work with children over the years, and many spoke in positive terms about his reputation in the community. Prosecutors had portrayed those efforts as an effective means by which Sandusky could camouflage his molestation as he targeted boys who were the same age as participants in The Second Mile, a charity he founded in the 1970s for at-risk youth.
Sandusky's arrest in November led the Penn State trustees to fire Paterno as head coach, saying he exhibited a lack of leadership after fielding a report from McQueary. The scandal also led to the ouster of university president Graham Spanier, and criminal charges against two university administrators for failing to properly report suspected child abuse and perjury.
The two administrators, athletic director Tim Curley and now-retired vice president Gary Schultz, are fighting the allegations and await trial.
Sandusky had initially faced 52 counts of sex abuse. The judge dropped four counts during the trial, saying two were unproven, one was brought under a statute that didn't apply and another was duplicative.
Sandusky, a 68-year-old retired defensive coach who was once Paterno's heir apparent, was found guilty of yesterday of 48 counts. He faces life in prison at sentencing, which is weeks away.
Sandusky showed little emotion as the verdict was read. The judge ordered him to be taken to the county jail to await sentencing in about three months.
Eight young men testified in a central Pennsylvania courtroom about a range of abuse, from kissing and massages to groping, oral sex and anal rape. For two other alleged victims, prosecutors relied on testimony from a university janitor and then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary, whose account of a sexual encounter between Sandusky and a boy of about 10 ultimately led to Paterno's dismissal and the university president's ouster.
Sandusky did not take the stand in his own defense.
Penn State's hallowed football program plays its home games in State College, a small community of about 40,000 with the nickname Happy Valley. The contests draw more than 100,000 people and the team's success has raked in millions of dollars in television broadcast rights, merchandising and more.
The Penn State program also captured fans' imaginations because it had a reputation of being honorable and avoiding the usual pitfalls of American college sports, including academic cheating by athletes to meet the required grades.
Allegations were made, however, that Sandusky had for years molested young boys and that the college's administration had hushed it up or ignored it to protect the sports program shattered the public university's image.
Sandusky had repeatedly denied the allegations, and his defense suggested that his accusers had a financial motive to make up stories, years after the fact. His attorney also painted Sandusky as the victim of overzealous police investigators who coached the alleged victims into giving accusatory statements.
But jurors believed the testimony that, in the words of lead prosecutor Joseph McGettigan III, Sandusky was a "predatory pedophile."
One accuser testified that Sandusky molested him in the locker-room showers and in hotels while trying to ensure his silence with gifts and trips to bowl games. He also said Sandusky had sent him "creepy love letters."
Another spoke of forced oral sex and instances of rape in the basement of Sandusky's home, including abuse that left him bleeding. He said he once tried to scream for help, knowing that Sandusky's wife was upstairs, but figured the basement must be soundproof.
Another, a foster child, said Sandusky warned that he would never see his family again if he ever told anyone what happened.
And just hours after the case went to jurors, lawyers for one of Sandusky's six adopted children, Matt, said he had told authorities that his father abused him.
Matt Sandusky had been prepared to testify on behalf of prosecutors, the statement said. The lawyers said they arranged for Matt Sandusky to meet with law enforcement officials but did not explain why he didn't testify.
"This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy," the statement said. It didn't go into details about his allegations.
Defense witnesses, including Jerry Sandusky's wife, Dottie, described his philanthropic work with children over the years, and many spoke in positive terms about his reputation in the community. Prosecutors had portrayed those efforts as an effective means by which Sandusky could camouflage his molestation as he targeted boys who were the same age as participants in The Second Mile, a charity he founded in the 1970s for at-risk youth.
Sandusky's arrest in November led the Penn State trustees to fire Paterno as head coach, saying he exhibited a lack of leadership after fielding a report from McQueary. The scandal also led to the ouster of university president Graham Spanier, and criminal charges against two university administrators for failing to properly report suspected child abuse and perjury.
The two administrators, athletic director Tim Curley and now-retired vice president Gary Schultz, are fighting the allegations and await trial.
Sandusky had initially faced 52 counts of sex abuse. The judge dropped four counts during the trial, saying two were unproven, one was brought under a statute that didn't apply and another was duplicative.
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