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Sandusky Victim Two Testifies In Appeal Hearing

Victim Two testified for the first time ever in the Jerry Sandusky case today at the Centre County Courthouse. Sandusky’s lawyer Al Lindsay called him as a witness — Lindsay’s seeking to get Sandusky’s conviction overturned and a new trial under the Post Conviction Relief Act.

Victim Two is the man who claims to have been the boy abused by Sandusky in a Penn State shower 15 years ago. Lindsay called him in an effort to prove two things: Sandusky’s former attorney Joe Amendola and the state knew Victim Two’s identity and failed Sandusky by not objecting to former state attorney Joe McGettigan’s remark that Victim Two was “known to God but not to us,” and to reveal what he argues was Victim Two’s motivation for changing his story (money).

The trial began with Lindsay establishing the background of Victim Two and Sandusky’s relationship. Victim Two said a State Police officer contacted him before Mike McQueary testified in a preliminary hearing about the incident and that he spoke to Sandusky a few times prior but he can’t remember details.

Lindsay then had Victim Two read through an interview he had with Trooper James Ellis and State Police investigator Cpl. Joseph Leiter in 2011 in which he claimed Sandusky did not abuse him. Lindsay read excerpts from the 2011 interview like “No time when I was with Sandusky did I ever feel uncomfortable,” and “I would’ve been very sure if something like that happened and I would’ve called the police.”

He asked Victim Two if he did, in fact, say those things.

“If it’s in there [interview] I said it but I don’t remember,” Victim Two testified. “That’s what I said then but do you realize everything that was happening back then and how confusing everything was?”

Lindsay asked Victim Two if he was telling the truth in the 2011 interview, and he said no.

Victim Two said he received a settlement from Penn State but did not disclose the amount of money he received. Had he revealed the amount, Lindsay would’ve impeached his witness. “That was part of the agreement with Penn State, that I cannot say how much I received from the university,” Victim Two said.

Lindsay explained he asked about the settlement to highlight a possible motivation for the change in Victim Two’s story. He then asked Victim Two if he remembers a man named Ken Cummings. Cummings was an investigator who showed up at Victim Two’s house before Sandusky’s initial trial.

“Yes. The reason I remember this is because I was bringing my newborn child home and my mother in law answered the door and he was blabbing to her. I told him to get the fuck off my property,” he said in arguably the only vivid memory of the day. Lindsay brought this up in an attempt to prove prosecutors knew who Victim Two was before Sandusky’s arrest.

Lindsay concluded his examination and Victim Two’s attorney Justine Andronici began. Victim Two said he was less reluctant to come forward when Sandusky was jailed. Andronici asked him if he was sexually abused, and he said yes. He claimed he didn’t hire lawyer Andrew Shubin “to get him some money,” a situation at the crux of Lindsay’s argument. Prosecutors argue Shubin kept Victim Two from investigators until after McQueary testified in a preliminary hearing.

When called to the stand, Sandusky said he “absolutely” did not abuse Victim Two.

Both sides addressed the media following the trial.

“We established today, I hope, that [Victim Two] is Victim Two. Secondly, we established what [Victim Two] said on previous occasions. It was important to get out that he said he was not abused and that McQueary’s statements were incorrect.” Lindsay said. He said although it was a risk calling a victim, he’s happy with the outcome. He believes it was important for the court to get the “full flavor” of what Victim Two has said in the past and that the Commonwealth had said he was unreliable and not Victim Two.

Andronici commended her client for his testimony. “I don’t think anyone in that courtroom could walk away and think anything except this is a young man who has worked so hard to come to a place in his life where he can tell the truth in court,” she said. “As far as what [Victim Two] said in the early days of this case [defending Sandusky], all he did is what almost all sexual assault victims do which is to try to protect themselves and their abusers. As soon as he realized Jerry was in jail, he began to break that contact and he came forward.”

This was the last scheduled appeal hearing. Both sides will submit briefs next week and oral arguments may be scheduled.

 

 

 

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About the Author

Sara Civian

Sara Civian is one of Onward State's three ridiculously good looking managing editors, a hockey writer at heart, and an Oxford comma Stan. She's a senior majoring in journalism, minoring in history, and living at Bill Pickle's Tap Room. Her favorite pastimes are telling people she's from Boston, watching the Bruins, and meticulously dissecting the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album. She's seen Third Eye Blind live 14 times. If you really hate yourself, you can follow her at @SaraCivian or email her at [email protected].

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