Less than a month after 68-year-old Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of multiple counts of sexual abuse, three more men have come forward—this time to say that they were molested by the former Penn State football coach during the 1970s and 1980s when Sandusky was in his 20s and 30s.
Older victims could hurt the chance of a successful appeal
According to Kirk Wilson of WHP-TV 21 in Harrisburg, this new information may shed more light on Jerry Sandusky’s past, as well as poke a hole in a main point used by his defense attorneys during the trial. During the trial, the defense argued that pedophilia doesn’t develop in a person’s 50s and that Sandusky had never been accused of child molestation before the 1990s. Now their case for an appeal based on this logic may be weakened.
Sandusky will be sentenced for his crimes in September. The Attorney General’s Office has not commented on further charges at this time.
New victims may mean greater Penn State culpability
What do these new, older accusations mean for the victims of Sandusky, for Penn State University, and possible future civil claims? During an interview for WHP-TV 21, personal injury lawyer Scott Cooper explained that new victims coming forward in the Sandusky case could be an issue for Penn State, especially if there was evidence showing that any of these three victims alerted the school to the threat of the coach. Officials at Pen State are already under fire for covering up abuse after 1994. They may be even more culpable if these new alleged sexual abuse survivors can show that the school did not act decades ago.
Harrisburg injury attorneys
The Pennsylvania injury attorneys at Schmidt Kramer have been involved with the Sandusky case since it began unfolding—and we are ready to answer your questions and review your legal options. To learn more about a possible civil case, contact us today at (717) 888-8888 or fill out the short contact form to the right of this article.
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