BELLEFONTE, Pa. -The defense in the former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case accuses police of coaching alleged victims.
Joseph Amendola, Sandusky's defense attorney, brought to stand two state troopers, who investigated Sandusky for the alleged crimes. Amendola pursued that the investigators has coaxed witness to provide testimonies that would help prosecutors.
One of the investigators called to stand was Joseph Leiter, defense presented a tape showing Leiter talking to some of the victims. Amendola reprimanded the investigator for training the victims on what to say. Leiter maintained that his technique was professional and that no coercion was involved.
Defense also questioned the lawyer of Victim no. 4 as to whether his client would file a civil lawsuit. Benjamin Andreozzi, the alleged victim's lawyer, said that the verdict on this case could "impact" the decision to file for a civil lawsuit, as reported by the Washington Post.
The heart of the defense lies in showing Sandusky's character and reputation to be noble. The defense is also trying to discredit the testimonies of alleged victims and their parents. Amendola has constantly stated that the victims have been ambiguous about date and time details of the alleged attacks. His claim is that the victims have an ulterior motive of winning huge amounts of money from the university in civil suits, which he is sure will follow after this trial.
Sandusky's wife Dottie is expected to provide a testimony to the court in tomorrow's court session.
Yesterday, the defense focused on building Sandusky's character by presenting co-workers who testified to the 68-year-old's solid reputation and noble character. One fellow employee told jurors that "it was not uncommon for coaches to shower with young children following workouts and other physical activities," as reported by USA Today.
Richard Anderson, another witness, claimed to have seen Sandusky in the shower with young boys but never noticed anything inappropriate.
All nine alleged victims claimed that the 68-year-old ex-coach had bought them gifts and told them he loved them. They have testified to incidents where Sandusky touched them in showers, and abused them in his house.
The ex-Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky has been charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse and molestation of young boys during his reign as associate football coach at the University. Prosecutors say that Sandusky had molested over 10 young boys over the span of 15 years. Sandusky has repeatedly denied all charges and claims not-guilty.
