A judge is granting a new evidentiary hearing in Pennsylvania after one of Jerry Sandusky’s accusers says he plans to recant testimony from Sandusky’s 2012 trial for child sexual abuse. Multiple outlets report that Sandusky, 82, is due to return to court on Sept. 8 as the judge reviews the recantation request.
According to reports, the accuser claims that his statements were influenced or shaped by authorities, including that prosecutors or investigators “coached” him to reframe his allegations. Other accounts say the accuser attributes the changed position to “extreme psychological and institutional pressure.” The outlets also note that Pennsylvania authorities and the court have expressed skepticism about recantations, with at least one report describing the recantation as “highly suspect.”
The hearing is presented as separate from other efforts Sandusky has made to overturn his conviction. Sandusky is serving a decades-long prison sentence after being convicted on 45 counts in 2012, where eight young men testified about abuse they reported as boys.
