Judge To Rule In Sandusky's Quest For More Details
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Jerry Sandusky's lawyer said Monday that his client cannot get a fair trial without additional specifics regarding when and where his alleged sexual abuse of children occurred, and he plans to seek dismissal of charges if more details are not produced by the attorney general's office.
The dispute brought Sandusky defense attorney Joe Amendola and prosecutor Joseph McGettigan before Judge John Cleland in a courtroom in Bellefonte, two months before the projected start of the trial for the former Penn State defensive coordinator.
Cleland did not immediately rule.
McGettigan said prosecutors could not provide more precise dates because purported victims were children at the time, the events were traumatizing, some have emotional and psychological difficulties, and "concealment" efforts were part of the alleged behavior.
McGettigan said Sandusky could have pressed accusers for details at the preliminary hearing but he chose to waive it, and the prosecutor told Cleland some additional details were included in the documents already handed over as part of pretrial discovery.
But Amendola said those records have not provided the kind of information he needs to help determine if Sandusky can mount a defense based on the statute of limitations, double jeopardy, alibi or some other grounds.
"These are things they really should remember, at least partly," Amendola said, saying prosecutors should have thoroughly examined the purported victims. "All we're asking the commonwealth to do is go back to these accusers, make a good faith effort to say, 'OK, you went to football games. Which ones?'"
Cleland said case law precedent showed a range of results when courts have analyzed the need for a specific timeframe.
"I have not found any cases that simply say, 'Any allegation within the statute of limitations is sufficient'" for a bill of particulars, Cleland said.
Allegations involving some of the victims range over four, five or six years.
McGettigan told Cleland the case presented unique circumstances.
Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period, including boys he met through The Second Mile, a charity for at-risk youth he founded. He denies the allegations.
Sandusky, 68, is confined to his home while awaiting trial on 52 criminal counts.
He was not in the courtroom Monday, though Amendola said he was taking an active role in his defense, including phone calls with Amendola several times daily.
Amendola said that if more specifics are not produced, the issue will form part of his motion to throw out the charges in the catch-all "omnibus" pretrial motion due later this month.
For most of the boys that Sandusky is accused of abusing, prosecutors were only able to disclose an estimate or range of dates for when it occurred, and provide only a rough idea of how old they were. Two of them remain unidentified, they said recently.
The hearing was slightly delayed while the two sides met with Cleland in private. Amendola said they were working on discovery disputes, a process that continues. The attorney general's office gave Amendola a large box of documents Monday.
Amendola said some issues remain regarding how to handle documents presented to a secret grand jury, as well as how to handle psychological evaluations.
Prosecutors say Sandusky abused the boys at various locations, including his home and Penn State athletic facilities.
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