Ex-Penn State Coach Sandusky Withdraws Petition For New Child Sex Abuse Trial

BELLEFONTE, PA — Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky appeared in court remotely Tuesday for a hearing expected to include testimony from an accuser recanting allegations that Sandusky sexually abused him years ago.

But that didn't occur, as Sandusky told a Centre County judge that he agreed with his lawyers not to move forward with the testimony because witness recantations seldom result in new trials.

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Sandusky's attorney later said he plans to appeal Sandusky's conviction to a higher court.

Sandusky, 82, was convicted in 2012 of sexual abuse of numerous children — who he accessed through the former coach's Second Mile charity — and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

Since the conviction, he has filed numerous appeals. The state courts have rejected each challenge to his conviction.

"This was yet another attempt by a convicted child predator to avoid accountability and escape punishment for years of abuse he perpetrated under the veil of a child-empowerment program," Pennsylvania Attorney General Sunday said following the hearing.

"I commend our litigation team for challenging this alleged recantation by one victim, and putting on record that we had available voluminous evidence that debunks this highly-suspect claim by defense counsel."

Before the attempted recantation was withdrawn, attorneys for the state presented an offer of proof of rebuttal evidence consisting of testimony from six witnesses and other evidence.

The state also noted that Sandusky's legal team did not comply with a court order directing the defense to provide all materials relevant to the testimony of any witnesses making a recantation claim.

The court order directed that the defense provide any and all post-trial interviews, statements or accounts provided by proposed defense witnesses in written, video, recorded or audio form that pertain to or address the victim's allegations of sexual abuse by Sandusky, the victim's trial testimony, or the recantation claim.

Sandusky's lawyer, Jerry Russo, told reporters after the hearing that state courts generally don't grant new trials based on a witness recantation, seeing it as "inherently unreliable."

Russo now plans to take Sandusky's broader claims for a new trial to federal court after one more procedural appeal at the state level.

This story contains information from the Associated Press.