BELLEFONTE, CENTRE COUNTY - A judge will sentence Jerry Sandusky Tuesday, but not before some of his victims address the court and Sandusky gets one last chance to say his version of what happened. But Tuesday's sentencing is more than a decade in the making.
In 1998 Penn State University police investigated a claim that Jerry Sandusky was showering with a young boy. No charges were ever filed in that case. But the former assistant football coach retired the next year.
A janitor says he saw Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in the showers at the Lasch Building on the University Park campus in the year 2000. Two years later, then Graduate Assistant, Mike McQueary says he saw a similar incident in the same building. He told then Head Coach Joe Paterno and later had a meeting with Athletic Director Tim Curley and the Vice President, who was in charge of university police, Gary Schultz. McQueary would later testify that he told Curley and Schultz Sandusky was having anal sex with the boy. Curley and Schultz would later testify that McQueary only told them Sandusky and the boy were horsing around. There was no official law enforcement investigation after this incident.
In 2008, another boy came forward and told police Sandusky was sexually assaulting him. The attorney general's office started an investigation that resulted in charges against Sandusky. Those charges were filed November 4th 2011.
Back in February the Governor Tom Corbett explained why it took so long to file charges. He said it was harder in this case because it took longer to track down witnesses.
On November 7th Tim Curley and Gary Schultz were arraigned on perjury charges, accused of lying to investigators about what they knew and when. Their trial is scheduled for January, 2013.
On November 9th the Board of Trustees fired Joe Paterno, and university students rioted in the streets of State College.
On November 21st Penn State hired Louis Freeh to investigate them. The Freeh Report came out in mid July of 2012 and concluded the university, and particularly Curley, Schultz, and Paterno should have done more to stop Sandusky's abuse of children.
On December 7th police arrested Jerry Sandusky again after two more victims came forward, and on the 13th Sandusky waived his preliminary hearing acknowledging he would go to trial to face charges that he assaulted ten boys over a 15 year period.
The jury was seated on June 6th 2012, and on the 11th the trial began. The prosecution called Sandusky a serial predator and rested on the 18th. The defense accused Sandusky's accusers of lying and being out for money. And they still maintain that. The defense rested on the 20th. After two days of deliberation the jury found Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 of 48 charges related to child sex abuse.
Tuesday, October 9th Sandusky will be sentenced for those crimes. His lawyers say he will take the stand and say again that he is innocent.
In 1998 Penn State University police investigated a claim that Jerry Sandusky was showering with a young boy. No charges were ever filed in that case. But the former assistant football coach retired the next year.
A janitor says he saw Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in the showers at the Lasch Building on the University Park campus in the year 2000. Two years later, then Graduate Assistant, Mike McQueary says he saw a similar incident in the same building. He told then Head Coach Joe Paterno and later had a meeting with Athletic Director Tim Curley and the Vice President, who was in charge of university police, Gary Schultz. McQueary would later testify that he told Curley and Schultz Sandusky was having anal sex with the boy. Curley and Schultz would later testify that McQueary only told them Sandusky and the boy were horsing around. There was no official law enforcement investigation after this incident.
In 2008, another boy came forward and told police Sandusky was sexually assaulting him. The attorney general's office started an investigation that resulted in charges against Sandusky. Those charges were filed November 4th 2011.
Back in February the Governor Tom Corbett explained why it took so long to file charges. He said it was harder in this case because it took longer to track down witnesses.
On November 7th Tim Curley and Gary Schultz were arraigned on perjury charges, accused of lying to investigators about what they knew and when. Their trial is scheduled for January, 2013.
On November 9th the Board of Trustees fired Joe Paterno, and university students rioted in the streets of State College.
On November 21st Penn State hired Louis Freeh to investigate them. The Freeh Report came out in mid July of 2012 and concluded the university, and particularly Curley, Schultz, and Paterno should have done more to stop Sandusky's abuse of children.
On December 7th police arrested Jerry Sandusky again after two more victims came forward, and on the 13th Sandusky waived his preliminary hearing acknowledging he would go to trial to face charges that he assaulted ten boys over a 15 year period.
The jury was seated on June 6th 2012, and on the 11th the trial began. The prosecution called Sandusky a serial predator and rested on the 18th. The defense accused Sandusky's accusers of lying and being out for money. And they still maintain that. The defense rested on the 20th. After two days of deliberation the jury found Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 of 48 charges related to child sex abuse.
Tuesday, October 9th Sandusky will be sentenced for those crimes. His lawyers say he will take the stand and say again that he is innocent.
