Defense attorney Joe Amendola declined to say if Sandusky would testify as he entered the courthouse Tuesday morning. Amendola says the case is like a soap opera, comparing it to "General Hospital" and "All My Children."
by WGAL 11:28 AM
Another defense witness:
Kelly Simco. Met Sandusky through the Second Mile when she was 8.
Simco said -- Thanks to Jerry, half my college tuition was paid.
by WGAL 10:59 AM
Another defense witness:
John Wetzler is a retired social studies teacher in Bellefonte School District. He has known Sandusky for 25-30 years. He was also a football coach and went to PSU for clinics.
The last conversation Wetzler had with Sandusky was when charges were first filed. He called Sandusky and said hed vouch for him.
by WGAL 10:59 AM
Another defense witness:
Lance Mehl lives in Ohio and played PSU football as a linebacker from 1976-1979. He was drafted by the NY Jets and is now a probation officer.
Mehl said of Sandusky -- We all looked up to him. He was a class act.
by WGAL 10:57 AM
Defense attorney then questioned Letier again on redirect (that is an opportunity to talk to the witness again after they have been cross examined).
Leiter said -- We have interviewed other kids and theyve told us theres been intercourse.
Amendola tells Leiter a recording was made of an interview Leiter did with Accuser 4, in it Leiter says:
This is the way he (Sandusky) operates Youre not the first victim weve spoken to. I want to say weve spoken to nine
it's amazing that if this was a book, Youd be repeating other accusers accounts word for word." I dont want you to feel ashamed because you were a victim of this thing...he (Sandusky) took advantage of you
we need you to tell us if this is what happened
we need you to tell us as graphically as you can what took place so we can get through this procedure
by WGAL 10:56 AM
Leiter said they had a hard time locating Accuser 4. When Leiter finally found 4, 4 said he didnt want to talk and said he wanted to talk with his attorney (Andreozzi) before talking to police.
On cross examination, Leiter says he interviewed 40 to 50 young men during the investigation.
Leiter said Accuser 4 curled up in a fetal position on the end of his couch when Leiter first went to 4s house to see if he wanted to talk. He confirmed he never told any of the accusers to say anything, and never told the accusers they had to talk to police.
The judge then called a sidebar with the attorneys as Leiter was still on the stand.
by WGAL 10:54 AM
Another defense witness:
-Corporal Joseph Leiter, retired from Pennsylvania State Police. He was one of the Sandusky case investigators
Leiter interviewed Accusers 1 , 4, 5, 7, 9 and 1 more -- and Mike McQueary. He probably did not nterview any of them more than 3 times. Leiter said that initially some accusers said nothing happened, then would tell more later.
Amendola asked the investigators if they ever told the accusers there were other accusers- both said yes.
Leiter said -- At some point in our interviews with some of them, we did tell them. Each of these accusers was very, very serious and very concerned and we had told them especially prior to going to grand jury that they wouldnt be alone, that there would be others.
Leiter said they never told the accusers the nature of the other allegations.
by WGAL 10:52 AM
Rossman said when he interviewed Accuser 4, 4s attorney (Ben Andreozzi) was present on Apr 21, 2011. Rossman said they took a break during the lengthy interview of Accuser 4. Amendola asked if Rossman stayed in the room when Accuser 4 left the room to take a cigarette break or get food. He said he didnt know if he or another officer stayed in the room for the break.
On cross examination, Rossman said that some of the accusers became very defensive when talking about the allegations.
by WGAL 10:49 AM
Another defense witness:
-Corporal Scott Rossman, with the Pennsylvania State Police for 13 year and one of the lead investigators for the Sandusky case.
Rossman started investigating in May/June 2009. He interviewed Accusers One, Four, Five, Seven, and 2 others -- and Mike McQueary. Rossman started interviewing them after an initial Patriot-News article about the allegations.
Rossman said he could not recall telling the accusers there were other accusers out there. He said some of the accusers initially said nothing happened or something minimal happened, then later added to their stories.
Rossman said -- Did I ever think there was more than what they told me? Absolutely. And Rossman said he told the accusers that.
by WGAL 10:48 AM
Another defense witness:
- Jack Willenback, a retired civil engineering professor at PSU. His kids grew up with Sanduskys children and go to Sanduskys church. Willenback said -- Jerry Sandusky is a father figure and hes also respected for what he did professionally.
Prosecutor McGettigan asked if any of Sanduskys friends changed their opinions of him after the allegations. Willenback said something to the effect of -- My wife and I are Christian and we decided we were not the ones to judge and we didnt want to hear about the allegations.
by WGAL 10:44 AM
Another defense witness:
- Phil Mohr, a retired professor of microbiology at PSU. He has known Sandusky for about 35 years. He lived a few doors down the street from Sandusky, was a church member at Sanduskys church and played organ for both Sanduskys parents funerals.
by WGAL 10:43 AM
#sandusky defense also calls many character witnesses but jury did not look impressed
by 8CumbCoReport via twitter 10:42 AM
Another defense witness:
- Joyce Porter, a woman in her late 40s, 50s. She was seated in the section of the courtroom gallery where Sanduskys supporters are. She is the mother of 14 children, of them 5 are adopted. Porter has known Sandusky for 40 years. She would see Sandusky a few times a year. She said -- All the people I know who know Jerry thinks hes a wonderful man.
When asked if the defense wanted to redirect, Defense attorney Joe Amendola looked at Sandusky, who shook his head no.
by WGAL 10:42 AM
Apparently Amendola will play audio of #sandusky investigator telling accuser 4 there are other accusers and he's a victim
by 8CumbCoReport via twitter 10:41 AM
Another defense witness:
- Megan Rash is a 25 year old expectant mother and Iraq Army vet. She was honorably discharged after incurring a brain injury while serving. She started Second Mile in elementary school and attended camps. She has known Accuser 4 for 18 years. She says Accuser 4 was her older brother's best friend. She also said of Accuser 4 -- He was a dishonest person and embellished stories.
by WGAL 10:40 AM
#sandusky defense makes a little headway by questioning why investigators told accusers there other accusers
by 8CumbCoReport via twitter 10:40 AM
Here's a rundown of the defense witnesses from this morning:
- Tanessa Inhoof, woman in her late 20s or early 30s. She met Sandusky through The Second Mile
has known Sandusky for more than a dozen years. She spent nights at Sanduskys house.
-Josh Green, 33 years old. He met Sandusky through The Second Mile in the early 90s. He spent nights at Sanduskys house. On cross-examination, Green says he was called by the defense team last week and was asked to testify.
by WGAL 10:39 AM
The defense has been calling a lot of character witnesses
all saying the same thing, that Sandusky had a good reputation. The only highlights have been defense pressing the investigators on if they tainted the accusers testimony -- -specifically asking why the investigators told the accusers there were other accusers.
by WGAL 10:36 AM
The courtroom is full again, only a few seats empty in the prosecutions allotment. Sandusky was seem joking with someone from the defense team, a woman
he was smiling ear to ear and joking with her, Amendola walked in and did the same. There appear to be 3 sketch artists here today.
by WGAL 10:36 AM
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News 8 reporter Matt Barcaro just shared an update of the morning's proceedings. We'll post the details here shortly.
by WGAL 10:36 AM
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