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Sandusky back in court seeking new trial to dismiss child sex abuse conviction

Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of sexual abuse of a child in June 2012. His first appeal was refused by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

By Doug G. Ware
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives for trial at the Centre County courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., in 2012. Monday, an attorney for the convicted child sex abuser asked a judge for a new evidentiary hearing to produce new evidence and seek a new trial. File Photo by George M Powers/UPI
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky arrives for trial at the Centre County courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., in 2012. Monday, an attorney for the convicted child sex abuser asked a judge for a new evidentiary hearing to produce new evidence and seek a new trial. File Photo by George M Powers/UPI | License Photo

BELLEFONTE, Pa., May 2 (UPI) -- Former Penn State University assistant football coach and convicted child sex abuser Jerry Sandusky returned to court Monday as part of his legal team's new effort to throw out his 2012 conviction.

Sandusky's attorneys argued for an evidentiary hearing to allow them to produce potential new evidence in the case -- a request Judge John Cleland questioned whether there was a need for.

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"The law is very clear. You have to give me a certification of, if I have a hearing, 'Judge, this is who I'm going to put on the stand and this is what they're going to say,'" Cleland said, describing what is needed for him to rule on the matter.

If the judge decided new evidence creates new doubt in the case, Sandusky could receive a new trial.

ARCHIVE October 2012: Sandusky may appeal 30-60 year sentence

Prosecutors argued that defense lawyers have no new evidence and that a jury's conviction four years ago was a just verdict.

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Sandusky, 72, was convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and is serving a prison term of 30 to 60 years. The incidents of abuse occurred while Sandusky was an assistant coach to the Penn State Nittany Lions football team between 1969 and 1999.

After filing numerous appellate claims, defense attorney Al Lindsay wants to be able to question lawyers who previously represented Sandusky, investigators, prosecutors and a man who has claimed to be the person referred to by prosecutors as Victim 2 -- a key witness for the prosecution, USA Today reported.

One particular concern Lindsay expressed was a claim that former prosecutor Joe McGettigan knew the identity of Victim 2 at trial in 2012 -- but made a false statement when he told jurors he didn't know the man's identity.

Cleland, though, wasn't impressed.

"That's a long way from saying that you've got a witness that's going to come in here and say [the man] was Victim 2, McGettigan knew it and lied about it," Cleland said.

"There's a leap here that I'm having some trouble making," he added. "You say: 'I think I have a claim... [but] I won't know it until I call a witness and hope they say A, B, C and D.'"

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"What else am I supposed to do? I'm mystified by the court's response," Lindsay replied, emphasizing that an evidentiary hearing might be Sandusky's only chance to get answers to the defense's questions.

ARCHIVE March 2012: State details charges in Sandusky case

Another concern is what defense attorneys believe was a media leak during the grand jury investigation -- an issue that could lead to court testimony by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane. Monday, Cleland gave Sandusky's team 10 days to refile and add Kane to the witness list.

Lindsay has indicated that he plans to call up to two dozen witnesses at the new hearing to establish new evidence.

"This was a profound injustice that occurred here," Lindsay said of the 2012 trial. "We'd like to get a fair shake. That's all we've ever asked ... What happened before was not a fair trial."

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to hear the first appeal by Sandusky's legal team in early 2014.

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