Jerry Sandusky’s request to move his evidentiary hearing to federal court has been denied, according to court documents filed on September 4.

The ruling allows the scheduled September 8 hearing to proceed as scheduled in the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County. The hearing is set for 9:30 a.m.

Sandusky and his legal team filed a motion on September 3 seeking to withdraw from the hearing. Sandusky and his attorneys are seeking federal relief. The request was denied during a status conference on Friday.

Federal relief would have allowed Sandusky to challenge whether his incarceration violated federal constitutional rights. Those who move to the federal courts normally have exhausted any available state court remedies.

The September 8 hearing was scheduled after Ryan Rittmeyer, identified as Victim 10 during Sandusky’s 2012 trial, signed a 2025 affidavit challenging his previous testimony.

During the 2012 trial, Rittmeyer testified in 2012 that Sandusky sexually assaulted him on multiple occasions beginning when he was a child. However, Rittmeyer now claims he had no”clear or certain” memory of abuse when first interviewed by Pennsylvania State Police, and alleged investigators repeatedly pushed him to reconsider his recollections.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General described Rittmeyer’s recantation as “highly suspect” earlier this week.

Sandusky’s legal team recently filed a 52-page amended Post-Conviction Relief Act petition seeking to broaden the scope of the September hearing. The petition raised allegations involving prosecutorial misconduct, changing accounts from accusers, and matters connected to later civil litigation.

Sandusky maintained his innocence in a recent interview with Chad Pradelli. He claimed that financial incentives and pressure from investigators influenced the allegations against him.

Sandusky, now 82, was convicted in June 2012 on 45 counts related to the sexual abuse of 10 boys. He was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.