The Jerry Sandusky Trial: 7 Key Figures

Former Penn State football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested in November of last year for allegedly sexually assaulting numerous young boys, possibly since the 1970s, resulting in the trial that began yesterday. The trial addresses 52 accounts of sexual assault of 10 boys over a 15-year period. At the onset of the accusations, several Penn State employees were criticized for not coming to the police with their knowledge of Sandusky’s behavior, implicating several other people in the story. These key figures stand between Sandusky’s guilt and innocence, and will play a large role in determining the outcome of the trial.

1. Jerry Sandusky

   Of course, the prime figure in the trial is Jerry Sandusky himself, the retired assistant football coach from Penn State. The 68-year-old man founded The Second Mile, a nonprofit organization for underprivileged youth, where several of the victims reportedly became involved with Sandusky. The acts he reportedly participated in with the boys included showering to oral sex and intercourse, allegations that Sandusky vehemently denies. Penn State banned Sandusky from campus on November 6, 2011. In a famous interview with Sandusky, he was asked if he was sexually interested in young boys. The former coach hesitated before replying, “Sexually attracted? You know, I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. But no, I’m not sexually attracted to young boys.”

2. Graham Spanier

   Graham Spanier was president of Penn State University during the course of the allegations against Sandusky, and has been heavily criticized for the way he dealt with the reports of Sandusky’s activity. When he learned that Mike McQueary walked in on a scene involving Sandusky and an underage boy in the locker room, it was reported that the only actions he took were to have Tim Curley and Gary Schultz ban Sandusky from bringing children into the football building, take away his set of keys to the locker room, and inform Second Mile of Sandusky’s behavior. An article by The Chronicle of Higher Education noted that Spanier was then instructed by the Board of Trustees to keep quiet about the case. A hoard of students from the university, angered by the situation, petitioned and rioted for Spanier to be fired. Ultimately, Spanier was forced to resign. Last month, Spanier took legal action against the University in order to force them to turn over emails pertaining to the Sandusky trial.

3. Joe Paterno

   Joe Paterno, affectionately known as “JoePa” by Penn State students, fans, and alumni, was head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years up until the situation with Sandusky abruptly ended his career. When McQueary notified Paterno of the goings-on in the locker room, he saw fit to tell Tim Curley and Robert Schulz, but failed to notify the police of the situation. Paterno later relayed to the Grand Jury that McQueary hadn’t been specific in his description of Sandusky’s activity with the boy, and at no point described the graphic detail of anal rape. Legally, Paterno was not implicated because he fulfilled his duty of notifying his supervisors of Sandusky’s wrongdoings. As a result, Sandusky may have been able to continue his treacherous treatment of underage boys and the child he raped was never identified. For many, Paterno’s image was greatly marred for failing to take stronger measures and notify the authorities, but Paterno also received a lot of support from Penn State students who saw him as their beloved coach. On November 8, Paterno announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season, likely due to the stress of the Sandusky allegations. However, he wasn’t able to make it to the end of the season because the Board of Trustees fired him later on that same day. He then died from lung cancer on January 22, 2012 and his will was sealed from public view.

4. Victim 4

   Victim 4 is just one of the many victims, but for the purpose of this article, represents the general role of the abused in the trial. As they are not publicly named, each of the victims testifying is denoted numerically. Victim 4 was merely 12 years old and a scrawny 90 pounds when Sandusky allegedly subjected the boy to countless acts of sexual abuse. Unable to overpower the much larger, ex-football coach, he was allegedly forced to relent to his advances. Fifteen years have passed, and now Victim 4 is testifying in court against Sandusky as a man. He recalls the way that the abuse originated, with Sandusky luring him with passes to football games and bestowing him with gifts. Over time, that progressed into showering with the man and engaging in sex acts. The victim admitted that while the abuse was terrifying, he didn’t want to lose all of the gifts and opportunities Sandusky presented him with, as an underprivileged child living in need. When Victim 4 attempted to withdrawal from Sandusky, he began to receive letters from the man, which often resembled love letters. In light of the other victims, Victim 4 feels personally responsible for not coming forward sooner, which may have prevented further molestation against other boys from occurring.

5. Joe Amendola

   Joe Amendola is representing Jerry Sandusky as his attorney for the sex abuse case. Throughout the allegations, Amendola has maintained that while Sandusky has made some poor decisions, his client is ultimately innocent of the charges. He refutes that Sandusky raped any children, but concedes that the man enjoys showering with children, an act he thinks Sandusky sees as innocent. Amendola told NBC’s Today Show that he is relatively certain that he has found the victim from the 2002 scene in which McQueary walked in on Sandusky and a child in the shower. Amendola notes that, according to the child, the rape never happened. He also continually reminds the public that Sandusky’s victims should not be called victims until he is proven guilty. Amendola’s defense is mainly built on the notion that the young men coming forth are looking for the financial benefit of winning a court case against Sandusky, claiming that they are only interested in money. When asked why Amendola would let his client admit to showering with young boys and other acts that most people would deem inappropriate, he responded, ““We had talked about it, and I explained to Jerry that this was an opportunity for him to tell people how he felt and what has happened in his life and the fact that he is not guilty of these offenses.” He noted that showering with others is part of Sandusky’s upbringing, and does not indicate foul play.

6. Michael McQueary

   Mike McQueary was a graduate student at the time when he walked into the Lasch Building to find Sandusky allegedly sodomizing a 10-year-old boy. He walked into the building with the intention of returning some sneakers to a locker, confused as to why the lights were on at night on a Friday. He then allegedly found Sandusky engaging in a sex act with the boy. From that point forward, he became a key witness. At first, McQueary told his father of his findings, but told Paterno as well the following morning. Like Paterno, Curly, and Schulz, McQueary was heavily criticized for not informing the police immediately after witnessing the rape. However, McQueary claims to have told the police of the incident. He also alleges that he made sure the activity was stopped before he left the locker room. This varies greatly from his original testimony disclosed in the Grand Jury report, in which he initially described fondling and never admitted to actually seeing intercourse take place.

7. Joseph McGettigan III

   Senior Deputy Attorney General Joseph McGettigan III is opposing Joe Amendola in Sandusky’s case, and opened the trial on Monday by labeling Sandusky a serial predator that abused his victims “not over days, not over weeks, not even over months, but in some cases over years.” He has pointed out that Sandusky likely took advantage of the charity to target helpless young men who were more likely to have an unstable home life. The charity merely provided him with a stream of young boys with whom he could abuse. McGettigan continued to describe the methods in which Sandusky enraptured these children and teens, grooming them, gifting them, and violating them.