Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of sexually abusing young boys, surprised a packed courtroom Tuesday by waiving his right to a preliminary hearing.
After Magistrate Judge Robert Scott asked Sandusky if he understood he was waiving certain rights, the former coach said yes, and the courtroom erupted in conversation and laughter. The judge admonished the crowd, and Sandusky and his attorney, Joe Amendola, left shortly afterward.
His arraignment is set for January 11.
Earlier, Sandusky arrived at the courthouse in Centre County, Pennsylvania under heavy security. Before the proceedings got under way, Amendola told CNN that Sandusky and his wife, Dottie Sandusky, were nervous but ready.
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At the hearing, prosecutors were expected to have Sandusky’s accusers describe, either in person or through their grand jury testimony and statements to police, how a man who assumed the role of a father figure allegedly crossed the line and sexually molested them.
The hearing sparked a media event the likes of which this quaint borough, population 6,200, has never seen. Hundreds of journalists descended on Centre County Courthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With its 26-foot white columns, marble stairs, clock tower and Christmas garland hung like bunting, it seems torn from a Norman Rockwell painting.
On Monday, crews cleared the courtyard out front, using cans of white and orange spray paint on the grass to mark up a media “staging area.” Inside, Senior Judge John M. Cleland heard arguments from Michael Berry, a First Amendment lawyer representing a group of national news organizations — including CNN, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press — about how people following this high-profile case will learn about Tuesday’s events.
Cleland’s revised order would have permitted journalists to text and tweet updates on their laptops, tablets and cell phones from inside the courtroom.
Bellefonte, the Centre County seat, is about a dozen miles from State College, home to Penn State — the location of many of the alleged crimes.
Sandusky, former defensive coordinator for Penn State University’s football team, faces more than 50 counts involving the sexual molestation of 10 boys he met through a youth charity he founded called The Second Mile. He has spoken to NBC’s Bob Costas and The New York Times, denying the allegations, but is unlikely to testify. He is free on $250,000 bail.
He has acknowledged showering and “horsing around” with boys, and says he has an attraction to children, but said it is not sexual in nature.
Tuesday’s preliminary hearing could have offered the first glimpse of what the accusers have to say beyond what was contained in the grand jury’s initial 28-page presentment. Two other accusers have since come forward.
It is unclear whether Tuesday’s witnesses were to have included Mike McQueary, an assistant coach who, according to the grand jury, reported seeing Sandusky raping a boy in the Penn State locker room showers. Various and conflicting versions of what McQueary did and didn’t say — or did or didn’t see — have been circulating publicly in recent days.