Physical Wellness

Defense Seeks Delay in Penn State Sex Abuse Trial

By Dave Warner | Update Date: May 12, 2012 08:34 PM EDT

BELLEFONTE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - The attorney for former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky on Wednesday asked for more time to review evidence before Sandusky's trial on child sex abuse charges, which is due to begin next month.

Sandusky's attorney Joseph Amendola said in a court filing that he is concerned about whether he can "effectively and adequately represent the defendant at trial" if it begins on June 5 in Pennsylvania's Centre County Court before Judge John Cleland.

Sandusky, 68, faces 52 counts of child molestation involving 10 boys over 15 years. The former assistant coach has pleaded not guilty and is under house arrest.

His attorney said he needs the extra time to interview potential witnesses and review documents from the prosecution. He said he also needs to review information from more than 40 subpoenas he has issued seeking records and other information.

At a hearing on Wednesday afternoon, the judge said he would consider the matter.

Prosecutors say Amendola has been improperly using his subpoena power to seek information to which he is not entitled.

They say he has filed a barrage of generic subpoenas in a "fishing expedition" for information and in one subpoena improperly revealed the identity of one of the alleged victims.

The number of alleged sexual assault victims, put at 10 in the indictment, may have risen to 17 or more, according to a letter Amendola recently wrote to prosecutors.

Under a gag order issued by the judge, none of the lawyers involved in the case is allowed to comment on the number of alleged victims.

It is unclear whether any additional accusers would be added to the case against Sandusky.

Prosecutors said this week that one alleged incident, in which a graduate student reported seeing Sandusky and a boy in the showers of a Penn State locker room, occurred in 2002 and not in 2001 as originally stated in the indictment.

Sandusky's indictment in November 2011 rocked the world of college football and led to the firings of university president Graham Spanier and longtime football coach Joe Paterno, who died of lung cancer in January.

The scandal also resulted in criminal charges against two other university officials.

(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Xavier Briand)

© 2023 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics