Topics

More

Investigative Agent Sassano Testifies About Sandusky

Proceedings after lunch were delayed over 30 minutes. Judge Cleland explained, “There are things that happen during the course of a trial that are unscripted. Things happen that we don’t plan or anticipate.”

“Yesterday afternoon, you heard an audio of a television interview. The Commonwealth presented this evidence and didn’t catch the errors that were in the audio,” Cleland said, referring to the Bob Costas interview that was played. “It will be critically important that your memory is based on [a transcript that will be provided during deliberation] rather than the audio you heard. I’m not going to tell you what the errors were — the transcript is what you will rely on.”

The comments were apparently prompted by the Patriot News report that parts of the interview were omitted yesterday.

The first witness to testify after the extended lunch recess was Anthony Sassano, an agent at the Attorney General’s office. He was assigned to the investigation in April or May of 2009 as part of a mutual investigation with the Pennsylvania State Police.

Sassano recounted the process of the investigation so far. He said that a state trooper interviewed Victim 1 in December of 2008 after he came forward with complaints.

In 2009, District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller received an anonymous e-mail, which she forwarded to Sassano. The e-mail referenced the Sandusky investigation and said that investigators should speak to Mike McQueary.

Sassano says Sandusky was put under surveillance several times and that the investigation obtained police reports from the 1998 investigation from the Penn State Police. From there, they tried to investigate whether there could be more victims.

“It was a daunting task — trying to get victims to come forward,” Sassano said. “Everyone here saw these young men testify. It’s hard to get them to admit that they were abused by a man. It would be like me not wanting to sit here with you and describe my sexual experiences in front of all of you.”

Sassano subpoenaed Penn State to obtain names of possible victims, but said, “To be frank, Penn State was not very quick in getting us the info.”

Sassano obtained a search warrant for Jerry Sandusky’s home on June 21, 2011, where many pictures of Sandusky and the alleged victims were found. An address list was also obtained. It lists Victim 9’s name, among other names, with two asterisks next to it. Victim 1’s name also appears on a list, with an asterisk next to his name as well. Victim 1’s name also appears on another list, with a dash next to his name. These markings were uncharacteristic of other names on the list.

Sassano also found that “Rudy”, the movie McQueary says he was watching before witnessing abuse, aired on the night of February 9, 2001.

A letter, written in 3rd person by Sandusky to Victim 4, was read by Sassano, in which Sandusky says, “Jer became attached to [Victim 4] and always will be…Jer might not be worthy but he needs a best friend…Jer will not forget and will always care.”

Your ad blocker is on.

Please choose an option below.

Sign up for our e-mail newsletter:
OR
Support quality journalism:
Purchase a Subscription!

About the Author

Kevin Horne

Kevin Horne was the editor of Onward State from 2012-2014 and currently holds the position of Managing Editor Emeritus, which is a fake title he made up. He graduated from Penn State with degrees journalism and political science in 2014 and is currently seeking his J.D. at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law. A third generation Penn Stater from Williamsport, Pa., Kevin is also the president of the graduate student government. Email: [email protected]

[Photo Story] Penn State vs. Minnesota

Our photographers made the trip to Minnesota to share the best photos of the game.

Meet Penn State Women’s Hockey’s Newest Signing: Oliver The Puppy

Three-month-old Oliver can’t grip a hockey stick, but he’s still plenty fond of hanging out on the bench.

Be Part Of History & Come Back For The Maryland Game: An Open Letter To Penn State Students

With a chance at history, students should return early and pack the student section with energy.

113kFollowers
164kFollowers
62.7kFollowers
4,570Subscribers
Sign up for our Newsletter
Other posts by Kevin

Hometown Brewery Releases Beer Honoring Evan Pugh

Penn State’s first president Evan Pugh was born in 1828 at Jordan Bank Farm, three miles south of the city center of Oxford, Pennsylvania, an hour west of Philadelphia in Chester County. One-hundred eighty-nine years later, an Oxford brewery is honoring one of the preeminent champions of “liberal and practical” higher education in the form of a delicious Porter.

Penn State Basketball Downs Colgate 72-59 In Front of Thanksgiving Eve Crowd

Why Honoring Paterno Still Matters