Jerry Sandusky's legal team alleged collusion between the grand jury and the attorney general's office during the former Penn State assistant football coach's 2012 child sex abuse trial. File Photo by George M Powers/UPI |
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Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Lawyers for Jerry Sandusky, the former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach who was convicted for sexually abusing children, argued in court that the grand jury and attorney general's office colluded during his 2012 trial.
During a virtual court hearing Wednesday, Sandusky's legal team said a diary kept by an FBI agent working with the Freeh group, which Penn State hired to investigate the case, contains evidence of collusion with prosecutors on the case.
Sandusky's attorney, Al Lindsay, said the diary, which he obtained from "a source" on Nov. 4, "pinpointed several leaks" related to the trial.
Lindsay said the diary specifically included communications regarding the timing of the trial, which he said had an impact on the verdict.
"One of the disturbing aspects of the diary ... is how this trial was rushed," he said.
Sandusky was convicted in 2012 for sexually abusing 10 boys and was sentenced to 30 years to 60 years in prison on 45 counts, which was upheld in November by a Forest County judge after a challenge stating the sentence was unconstitutional.
Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Mary Jane Bowes questioned why Lindsay did not present the diary prior to the resentencing hearing, to which he responded: "The commonwealth would have said, 'So what?'"
Attorney Jennifer Buck, representing the commonwealth, said the Freeh investigative team did not exist until after Sandusky was convicted, making collusion impossible and that the alleged communication between the groups did not signal improper collaboration.
"It's purely speculation," Buck said.
