Larger text
Smaller text
Sandusky’s adopted son says he was molested
Daily Photo Galleries
By Debra Erdley and Adam Smeltz
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 5:24 p.m.
Updated: Thursday, June 21, 2012
BELLEFONTE — Matt Sandusky, the youngest adopted son of Dottie and Jerry Sandusky, offered to testify for the prosecution this week that his adoptive father molested him, his attorney said on Thursday.
The surprise twist became public as the sequestered jury began deliberations on 48 criminal charges of child sex abuse against Jerry Sandusky, 68.
Matt Sandusky, 33, was listed as a defense witness but was sequestered throughout the proceedings and never took the stand.
His attorney, Andrew Shubin, said Matt Sandusky came forward during the trial and disclosed to prosecutors “for the first time in this case that he is a victim of Jerry Sandusky's abuse.”
In a written statement, Shubin said he immediately arranged a meeting between his client and the state attorney general's office.
Prosecutors could not immediately be reached for comment.
No one answered the door at Matt Sandusky's home in College Township, not far from his parents' house. His listed phone number did not answer.
“This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt, and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy. There will be no further comment at this time,” Shubin said.
Joseph Amendola, lead defense attorney for Jerry Sandusky, said he could not comment, citing Judge John M. Cleland's gag order.
The threat of testimony might have kept the elder Sandusky off the stand, NBC News reported, citing unnamed sources. The network said Matt Sandusky was in the courthouse on Wednesday when Jerry Sandusky and lawyers went into Cleland's chambers. They came out 30 minutes later and said the defendant would not testify.
“To me, the fact that (prosecutors) didn't use him shows they are very confident of their case,” said Donna McClelland, a former Westmoreland County prosecutor who practices with the McClelland Law group in Pittsburgh.
Matt Sandusky's name came up during the trial when “Victim 4” testified that Matt was with him when he played racquetball with the retired football coach and went into the showers with them but turned and left when Jerry Sandusky started tossing soap at him, a move that was typically a prelude to the coach's sexual advances in the shower, witnesses said.
Matt Sandusky met Jerry and Dottie Sandusky through the Second Mile charity when he was 7 or 8. He became the youngest of the couple's six adopted children when the Sanduskys adopted him when he turned 18.
Jerry Sandusky's 2001 autobiography “Touched” includes suggestions that some people questioned his actions as he battled to obtain custody of Matt when the teenager was a foster child.
Matt's biological mother, Debra Long, went public in a TV interview shortly after Jerry Sandusky's arrest with complaints that authorities ignored her concerns about Matt's relationship with the Sanduskys.
She said that, over time, her son went from being an outgoing child to a sullen youth who often hid when Sandusky visited. That statement was similar to testimony a mother of one of Sandusky's alleged victims gave this week about how her son changed.
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reported that Matt Sandusky testified before the grand jury that investigated Sandusky last year. His comments weren't part of the panel's public report, and authorities refused to comment on any testimony, citing grand jury secrecy rules.
Washington County lawyer Chris Blackwell said any testimony Matt Sandusky gave under oath could be problematic if it contradicts what he is now saying.
Blackwell said it is not uncommon for new witnesses to step forward once facts become public.
“Ten more people could come forward and say, ‘He abused us,' and they could pursue on to trial with those 10 new victims,” he said.
McClelland said Matt Sandusky's change of heart once the trial started would have made it risky for prosecutors to use him on the stand.
Bruce Antkowiak, a professor of law and criminology at St. Vincent College and a former federal prosecutor, said the prosecution could have tried to argue that Matt Sandusky's allegations, though not part of the criminal case, were relevant to crimes charged or could have used them to rebut testimony his adoptive father would have given.
“Regardless of how the case turns out, (prosecutors) could charge on this,” Antkowiak said.
Meanwhile, a man with a civil lawsuit pending against Jerry Sandusky spoke out yesterday. In a lawsuit filed in state court in Philadelphia in November, shortly after Sandusky was charged, Travis Weaver alleged that Sandusky sexually assaulted him starting at age 10. He said he was abused on campus, at Sandusky's home and on a trip to the Rose Bowl in California. Weaver, 30, is named as John Doe in his civil lawsuit, but his lawyer, Jeff Anderson, said he was ready to make his name public. In an interview with NBC's “Rock Center with Brian Williams,” Weaver said Sandusky abused him more than 100 times over four years starting in 1992. He said he thought he was the only one until he saw Sandusky on the news, arrested on charges of molesting other boys.
Debra Erdley and Adam Smeltz are staff writers for Trib Total Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Most-Read Stories
- NHL insider: Penguins’ Shero seems ready to move Letang
- Pitt gets commits from QB, local RB
- Pirates notebook: Beanballs escalate tension against Reds
- Morton, quick start propel Pirates past Reds
- Penguins notebook: Pens talking with Dupuis’ reps
- Pirates announce signing of first-round pick McGuire
- Reserve woman found shot to death in home
- Former president of Derry Area Football Boosters Club charged with stealing $27,000 from group
- Munhall police update abandoned-homes list
- Pagan’s lawyer seeks info
- Plan for loft apartments receives approval
You must be signed in to add comments
To comment, click the Sign in or sign up at the very top of this page.
Matt Sandusky is extremely brave for coming forward and speaking of his being sexually abused by his adopted father... this is NOT and easy thing to do and he is to be commended for his courage. Child predators are very cunning and manipulative. They know every trick on how to groom, threaten, lie, and put the fear of god into their victims and sometimes even their family members. They also appear to do a lot of goods things, they can be very charismatic and you may think they would never harm a child. They have to be this way, in order to not get caught and to continue to abuse Sexual predators are often powerful and well-loved. It would be comforting if those who preyed on the vulnerable were obvious social misfits whose appearance would somehow set off alarm bells and give us the willies or the creeps. They rarely do. Usually, predators are among the last people we would suspect of sexually violating others. At a party, the predator isn't some oddball sitting alone in a corner because others feel uncomfortable with him. Most often, the predator is the guy throwing the party. We must overcome the dangerous myth that because someone is successful or warm or caring, he or she couldn't have done that! Also, we must stop thinking that because a man is old, that somehow he's automatically safe. It's just irresponsible to endanger kids by assuming an adult is harmless simply because he or she may be losing hair, wearing glasses, using hearing aids or walking with a cane. These can be signs of advancing age, but they are not signs that an individual is safe around kids. It is extremely rare that a child predator has only one victim. Hopefully if anyone has knowledge or may have been harmed by Jerry Sandusky, they will contact the police. Also keep in mind your silence only hurts, and by speaking up there is a chance for healing, exposing the truth, and therefore protecting others. Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, 636-433-2511 snapjudy@gmail.com "Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests" and all clergy. http://www.snapnetwork.org/
Subscribe today! Click here for our subscription offers.
