BELLEFONTE — Jerry Sandusky's attorney thinks someone is likely to remember going to a Penn State football game as a child or attending a Second Mile picnic with the former defensive coordinator.
Attorney Joe Amendola called those “major events” in a child’s life — things he’d remember from his own childhood — and said more specific information about when they took place would be a way to narrow down the time frame of the allegations against his client. He said that if the prosecution can’t provide him that information he plans to ask the judge to dismiss the case, citing a violation of his client’s right to a fair trial.
Amendola made the argument during a short pretrial hearing Monday morning, hoping that a judge will require the prosecution to turn over more specific information about the allegations to help him prepare a defense.
“What if you were arrested today and you were charged with molesting a teenage boy or girl between 2000 and 2005, numerous times, without any other details? How would you defend that?” Amendola said to reporters after the hearing.
Senior Judge John Cleland didn’t make a deci- sion Monday, but attorneys for both sides expect a ruling soon.
At issue are the allegations that span several years, and it appears that prosecutors won’t be able to get that information from the accusers.
Prosecutor Joseph E. McGettigan III told the judge the alleged victims, who are now adults, have “emotional and psychological difficulties,” have blocked out the memories of the alleged childhood abuse and don’t recall exact times and dates. He said for some, the alleged abuse happened over weeks, months or years.
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