Judge Cleland Delivers Jury Instructions

It’s only been eight days — far less than most people had anticipated — and the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse trial is already coming to an end.

Judge John Cleland began by charging the jury on their duties and responsibilities during deliberation. “It is not necessarily a crime for an adult to touch a child…It’s not necessarily a crime for a man to shower with a boy, or to engage in back rubbing,” Cleland said. “You may think he exhibited poor judgement. Poor judgement in and of itself does not result in criminality.”

“The defendant is presumed to be innocent,” Cleland continued, before going into the details about each of the 48 counts.

Additionally, counts 16, 18, and 19, have been dismissed for redundancy. This brings the number or charges against Sandusky down to 48.

Cleland also expects each of the closing arguments to take an hour to an hour and a half each.

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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]