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More alleged victims tell their stories at Sandusky trial
Friday, June 15, 2012
By Terry Whetstone Staff Writer
Editor's note: Some content in this story involves court testimony from alleged victims and a witness that is sexually explicit and graphic.
BELLEFONTE - An 18-year-old man who graduated from high school a few weeks ago was the final alleged victim to take the stand yesterday in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse trial at the Centre County Courthouse.
The young man, identified as alleged Victim No. 9, nervously told his story as the day's testimony was winding down.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Joseph McGettigan III asked the McClure resident how and when he met Sandusky. The alleged victim answered the two met at the swimming pool when he was participating in activities at the Second Mile Club. He saw Sandusky playing with the other children in the pool and went over to play with them as well. He said Sandusky asked if he would like to hang out.
The young man said yes because Sandusky was well known and he wanted to hang out with him.
Shortly after that, he testified he stayed at the Sandusky home, usually on weekends, for about three or four years. He was 12 when he met Sandusky in 2005.
"At first he was nice, we played games, went to games and went out to eat," said Victim No. 9. "When I'd go to bed, he would come into the bedroom and rub my back. He would kiss me all over my body and blow on my stomach."
He said he told his mother Sandusky was a "touchy-feely guy."
The young witness told the jury Sandusky was always hugging him and telling him he loved him. At the time, he weighed about 67 pounds, while Sandusky was much larger.
He said over time, Sandusky started to kiss him on the lips and got physical. Sandusky made him touch his private parts, the alleged victim said.
McGettigan asked him if he told his mother and he stated he had not.
"Why didn't you?" McGettigan asked.
"How do you tell your mom something like that?" he replied.
Alleged Victim No. 9 said Sandusky came into the room, pulled his pants down and forced the victim to perform a sex act on him. The teen said he never wanted to do what Sandusky was forcing him to do.
McGettigan asked the alleged victim about how many times it had happened and he said probably about 100 or 150 times.
He said Sandusky kissed him on every occasion. He said the defendant would just go to the basement and get into bed with him.
One night, the young man testified, Sandusky raped him.
"He got real aggressive and he forced it into me," he said, shaking as he recalled the events of just a few years ago. "There was no fighting against it. Sometimes I'd scream, tell him to get off of me."
He said it happened a few more times.
"I'd had enough of it. I called my mom to come pick me up ‘cause I had a cell phone, finally."
He said his mother came to get him, but he did not tell her why, he just told her he did not want to go back.
Alleged Victim No. 9 said one morning his mother woke him up at about 9 a.m. and told him the police were there to talk to him. She told him it was about Sandusky.
McGettigan asked him why he never told anyone and he said it was because he was a kid and felt no one would believe him. He said Sandusky was a football coach and an important person and he did not expect anyone to believe it.
During cross-examination Joe Amendola asked the alleged victim if anyone was at home when the alleged rape occurred.
Sandusky's wife, said the victim.
"You mean you screamed and Mrs. Sandusky didn't help you," Amendola asked.
The alleged victim said he believes the basement is soundproof and that is why she did not hear him.
After Sandusky was arrested, he called and asked the teen to stick up for him if the police contacted him.
Victim No. 9 was not the only alleged victim to take the stand yesterday, as alleged Victim No. 6 was the first witness of the day.
The now 25-year-old said he currently lives in Colorado. Unlike most of the other victims, Victim No. 6 did not meet Sandusky through the Second Mile Camp, but at a Second Mile event at the Spring Creek Park.
He was excited to meet Sandusky and was a huge football fan. He said he was honored to meet the assistant coach.
The young man said he just graduated from Bible College and is looking toward a career utilizing his college education.
The alleged victim told McGettigan that Sandusky picked him up one day to go work out. He said he was excited about going to the Penn State facility.
He said he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, but when they got to the gym, Sandusky gave him a pair of shorts and a shirt, which he was told to wear to work out.
"I thought that's what I was already wearing," he said.
When they were at the gym, Sandusky showed him around the locker room. He let him try on some of the uniforms and helmets, then they wrestled around a little. The alleged victim said that was weird and uncomfortable, but he just rolled with it, "Because it was Jerry," he said.
Following a very short workout, the alleged victim said Sandusky told him it was time to shower, but he did not think he needed one, because they were not sweaty.
He said he was uncomfortable undressing because no one had ever seen him naked other than his parents.
He undressed and went to the shower. He chose a shower across the room from Sandusky. He said Sandusky told him to use the one beside him, as he had it warmed up.
He said Sandusky made some jokes and kind of lightened the mood, and tickled him under the arms, on the chest and stomach.
Then Sandusky put him in a bear hug and told the boy he was going to squeeze his guts out.
The alleged victim told the jury Sandusky soaped him up and picked him up and held him to his body to rinse his off.
Sandusky then took him home, and he told his mother, "If you're wondering why my hair is wet, we showered," he said. "Then I ran off to my room."
After Sandusky left, his mother asked him what he meant, then she called the police.
The alleged victim liked to hang out with Sandusky, but his mother did not like it. He felt his mom was trying to get Sandusky in trouble.
His mother called Children and Youth Services and the police, and they went to then-district attorney Ray Gricar. However, Gricar told the police they did not have enough evidence to prosecute.
During the cross examination, Amendola asked the alleged victim if he sent a text to Sandusky in 2009 at Thanksgiving. He showed the alleged victim the text.
The alleged victim admitted he had sent the text, but said he had sent the same message to several people.
Amendola asked why he changed his mind about Sandusky between 2009 and now. The alleged victim said what happened when he was a child was inappropriate and should not have happened. Amendola wanted to know if trying to get money was a factor in changing his mind and the alleged victim said it was not.
Alleged Victim No. 3 was the second of the three to testify yesterday. He said he grew up in Moshannon with his mother and brother.
Like most of the other alleged victims, Victim No. 3 met Sandusky through the Second Mile Camp, where he was a member in 1998 and 1999.
He enjoyed staying with Sandusky. He said Sandusky was like a father to him. He said he usually stayed with the Sanduskys during the week. Sandusky would pick him up after school.
The witness said Sandusky would go into the basement bedroom, where he slept, and he would be shirtless. He said Sandusky would ask him why he insisted on sleeping with all of his clothes on.
"Eventually I'd end up just in my underwear," he said.
The alleged victim, now 25, said Sandusky would tickle him on the stomach, inside his legs and up his thighs, then he said Sandusky would touch his private parts.
"He did this most times I would stay there," he said. "But I didn't tell anyone because I liked the things Jerry got me."
The alleged victim said Sandusky would take him to the gym and they would end up in the shower together. He said Sandusky would wash him in the shower, wash his back, shoulders and buttocks, then he would give him a bear hug.
While in bed in the basement, the alleged victim told McGettigan that Sandusky would touch his private parts.
"I'd roll away to get it to stop," the young man said. "I never asked him to stop, though, because I felt like a part of the family. I loved him."
He said he was sent away to two different group homes and that is how his relationship with Sandusky ended.
At the end of the day, Judge John Cleland said the court would recess until Monday, giving the jury and other trial participants a three-day weekend.
When asked by The Progress and another reporter if McGettigan had wrapped up his portion of the trial, the prosecutor simply answered, "No."
The trial will resume Monday.
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