Jerry Sandusky Trial: Defense expected to begin Monday

(CBS/AP) BELLEFONTE, Pa. - The prosecution rested Monday in the child-sex abuse trial of former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Jurors will soon begin hearing from defense witnesses, which may include Sandusky himself.

Pictures: Child-sex scandal rocks Penn State

The prosecution presented testimony from eight alleged victims, as well as witnesses connected to two other alleged assaults. Before resting, prosecutors called the mother of one of his alleged victims, who told the jury she thought it was unusual her son's underwear was frequently missing from the laundry.

The woman also said the former Penn State assistant football coach contacted her son to be a character reference for him after the first round of charges were filed against him in November. The woman said her son would claim he had thrown away his underwear because he had an accident. Last week, the teen said Sandusky forced him to have anal sex that made him bleed, but he'd "dealt with it."

"I always wondered why he never had any underwear in the laundry," she said. "There was never any underwear, any socks ... that was odd to me."

The woman was the last of 21 witnesses presented by prosecutors in five days of testimony.

Sandusky's attorneys immediately called their first witness, former Penn State assistant Dick Anderson, who had sat behind Sandusky during opening statements last week.

Sandusky is charged with 51 counts stemming from alleged encounters with 10 boys over a 15-year span. He denies the allegations.

Prosecutors dropped one of the 52 counts against him Monday because the statute he was charged under did not apply at the time of the alleged illegal contact. The charge relates to an accuser identified by prosecutors as Victim 7.

During testimony, the man said the offense happened in 1995 or 1996, but the unlawful contact with a minor statute didn't apply until 1997, prosecutors told the judge overseeing the case. Three charges related to the man are still in effect, including attempted indecent assault.

Sandusky's attorney, Joe Amendola, suggested in opening statements that Sandusky would testify in his own defense but that's a risk that defense lawyers are normally reluctant to take.

A local attorney told CBS Pittsburgh that he thinks allowing the former coach to testify could be a mistake.

"I don't think a person should take the stand unless it's absolutely necessary because it changes the dynamics of the jury's consideration of the burden of proof," said attorney J. Alan Johnson.

CNN also reports Sandusky was to be examined by a prosecution psychologist Sunday. The exam is the result of a court order Friday allowing the defense to introduce testimony on whether Sandusky suffers from a mental disorder.

Last week, lawyers for Sandusky highlighted changes and discrepancies in statements from Sandusky's accusers. They've also tried to show that some of the alleged victims are motivated to lie in the hopes of hitting a civil lawsuit jackpot.

"There is lots of money out there," Amendola said Friday. "Lawsuits have already been filed against Penn State, against The Second Mile, against Jerry Sandusky."

Complete coverage of the Jerry Sandusky trial on CBSNews.com