Updated Case Regarding Penn State Scandal and Jerry Sandusky

Twelve accusers have now come forward against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky accusing him of child sexual abuse crimes. Sandusky was arrested again on Wednesday December 7, 2011, for 10 additional child molestation charges resulting from the testimony of two new alleged victims who came forward stating that they were assaulted by Sandusky years ago. This brings the total charges against him to 50 counts of sexual child molestation. Sandusky was released from jail on a $250,000 bail on December 8, 2011, after spending the night in jail. He posted $200,000 in real estate and a certified check in the amount of $50,000 from his wife Dorothy “Dottie” Sandusky to secure his release. The judge has ordered Sandusky to wear an electronic monitoring device and barred him from entering the campus at Penn State.

Although Sandusky’s wife Dottie Sandusky was named in the testimony of one of the new alleged victims and has been implicated in the alleged sexual abuse crimes by three of the men who claimed to have been sexually abused by her husband, she has denied all allegations that her husband sexually abused boys in their home and that she ignored their pleas for help.  She stated that “No child who ever visited our home was ever forced to stay in our basement and fed there. All the kids who visited us ate with us and our kids and other guests when they were at our home.” She continues to believe in her husband’s innocence and has asked everyone to keep an “open and reasonable mind” until both sides of the case have been heard and her husband has had the opportunity to prove his innocence in Court. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, handling the investigation, has not confirmed whether Dottie Sandusky was also a target of their ongoing investigation or whether she could face any charges.

Penalties and Fines

Pennsylvania takes child sex abuse cases very seriously. If you are accused of such a crime, you could face serious charges if convicted under the Pennsylvania Statutes Sections 3121-3130 including felony rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, institutional sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, or misdemeanor charges for indecent assault, indecent exposure, sexual intercourse with an animal or conduct relating to sex offenders. State prosecutors try these cases vigorously and courts give harsh sentences ranging anywhere from a maximum minimum 10 year sentence to as much as 40 years for a felony crime conviction of  sexual molestation crimes against children and fines up to $100,000. Being convicted as a sex offender under Pennsylvania laws requires offenders to register on the state sex offense list and could affect where someone lives, their employment and other aspects of their life for the rest of their life after they have been released from prison. A person can also be charged with failing to report these crimes to law enforcement even if they are not guilty of committing a sex crime, and could face perjury charges for failing to disclose the information under oath.

Attorney Representation

Persons who have been charged with child sex abuse offenses in Pennsylvania should seek the advice of an experienced Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney who specializes in Pennsylvania sex crimes involving minors or other sexual offense crimes to defend them.  Only an attorney can aggressively represent and defend an accused person in connection with such serious charges. The attorney will interview witnesses and be persuasive in convincing authorities and prosecutors to drop or dismiss such charges, and in some instances, may be able to get prosecutors to void charging a person in the first place when a person has been falsely charged. An attorney may also be able to get the charges against a person reduced to a much lesser crime such as indecent exposure which does not require the registering as a sex offender or the attorney may be able to get the accused probation or community service.

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