Thursday, December 8, 2011

Sandusky jailed on charges by two new accusers

As seems often to be the case with sexual abuse and molestation, once one or two survivors come forward, many more do as well. Two new accusers have come forward about their abuse by Sandusky, the disgraced former Penn State football coach. He was sent back to jail and was unable to post bail as of last night, although he was expected to do so. When released, he will wear an electronic monitor to enforce no contact with accusers. Sounds about right.

Sandusky jailed on charges by two new accusers

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Ex-Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was jailed Wednesday after new child sex abuse charges were filed against him based on the claims of new two accusers, including one who says he screamed in vain for help while Sandusky attacked him in a basement bedroom.

The latest accusers are the ninth and 10th alleged victims described in grand jury reports that claim Sandusky befriended and then molested boys he met through his Second Mile charity for troubled youth. A grand jury document released Wednesday echoed an earlier report, saying Sandusky gave the boys gifts while also making advances on them.

One of the new accusers said Sandusky kept him in a basement bedroom during overnight visits to Sandusky's home, forced him to perform oral sex and attempted on at least 16 occasions to anally penetrate him, sometimes successfully.

Jerry Sandusky was silent at his hearing before being booked on new sex abuse charges. (AP)
Jerry Sandusky was silent at his hearing before being booked on new sex abuse charges. (AP) 
"The victim testified that on at least one occasion he screamed for help, knowing that Sandusky's wife was upstairs, but no one ever came to help him," the grand jury report said. 
Sandusky now faces criminal accusations from 10 young men and more than 50 charges stemming from alleged assaults over 15 years on boys in his home, on Penn State property and elsewhere. The scandal has provoked strong criticism that Penn State officials didn't do enough to stop the alleged assaults. The scandal prompted the ouster of Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno and the school's longtime president, Graham Spanier.

Sandusky, 67, has said repeatedly that he is innocent and has vowed to fight the case. In interviews with NBC and The New York Times, he said he showered and horsed around with boys but never sexually abused them. Lawyer Joseph Amendola said Wednesday that he had not yet read the latest grand jury report but had no reason to doubt Sandusky's claims of innocence.

Sandusky was wide-eyed and quiet during the arraignment in a cramped district magistrate's office outside the small town of Bellefonte. He could not immediately pay $250,000 cash bail and was driven to Centre County jail by agents from the state attorney general's office.

He had been arrested at his home, handcuffed behind his back and driven to court wearing a blue and white Penn State wrestling jacket and matching sweat pants.
After the hearing, Sandusky avoided eye contact and did not speak to about two dozen reporters and photographers waiting before authorities placed him in the back of a silver sedan that would shuttle him to jail.

The new alleged victims, who contacted officials after Sandusky's initial arrest on Nov. 5, told the grand jury they met Sandusky through the charity he founded in 1977.

"I took it at first he was just a nice guy, like he went to church every weekend, his kids would come over every once in a while and stuff. And after a while, like, he got used to me and stuff and started getting further and further, wanting -- to touchy feely," the ninth accuser, who is now 18, told the grand jury.

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He said he was 11 or 12 when he first met Sandusky in 2004 and Sandusky took him to Penn State football games and gave him gifts and money, and sexually assaulted him over a period of years, according to the grand jury report.

The 10th accuser told the grand jury he was referred by a counselor to The Second Mile in 1997, when he was 10 and experiencing problems at home.

He also attended Penn State games with Sandusky, spent time at Sandusky's house, and was subjected to "wrestling sessions" in the basement of the home that led to Sandusky performing oral sex on the boy, the report said. The accuser also detailed being molested in a pool on the Penn State campus, and a time when Sandusky allegedly exposed himself in a car while driving and requested oral sex from the boy.

The boy refused, and after Sandusky expressed his displeasure, the boy told his foster mother he didn't want to see Sandusky any more, the report said.

The grand jury report did not say whether the boys ever told anyone else about the assaults before testifying.

Asked what he told Sandusky during the arraignment, Amendola said he warned his client to be prepared for things to get worse.

"Jerry's scratching his head saying `What's next?"' Amendola said. "I said, `Don't ask that question. Don't ask, `Can it get worse?' because it can.' We just have to be prepared for whatever else comes down the road. And we will be."

Asked how Sandusky is dealing with the accusations, Amendola said, "How would you take it if you were facing the kind of charges he was facing and your life's work was helping kids? You would be devastated."

Sandusky, who at one time thought he would succeed Paterno as Penn State's head coach, retired from the team after the 1999 season.

Lawyers Andrew Shubin and Justine Andronici, who say they have been representing and advising alleged victims, said the additional charges were to be expected.

"Through our investigation, we have found that Jerry Sandusky is a serial predator who has victimized many people over the course of decades," Androncini said. "Victims, many of whom have kept silent about Jerry Sandusky's abuse for years, are now gaining the strength to come forward and speak about what has happened to them."

Amendola said he believes that Sandusky will be able to post bail. If he does, Sandusky will have to wear an electronic monitor, which Amendola said would be the equivalent to house arrest.

Sandusky also was to have no contact with alleged victims or witnesses in the case and have no unsupervised contact with minors.

Prosecutors had sought $1 million in bail.

The bail and conditions ordered Wednesday by Senior Magisterial District Judge Robert E. Scott were in contrast to the $100,000 unsecured bail Sandusky was granted last month.

The new charges include four counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, all of them first-degree felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison and $25,000 in fines. Sandusky also was charged Wednesday with three third-degree felony counts and three first-degree misdemeanor counts.

A preliminary hearing on the latest charges was scheduled for Tuesday, the same day as a hearing on the previous charges.

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