HARRISBURG, PA — Jerry Sandusky’s latest effort to overturn his 2012 child sexual abuse conviction ended Tuesday after a Centre County judge dismissed his post-conviction petition following his withdrawal of a claim that one of his victims had recanted, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach, is serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing numerous children whom he encountered through The Second Mile, the youth charity he founded.
The dismissal marks another unsuccessful challenge to the conviction. Sandusky has pursued multiple appeals and post-conviction proceedings since 2012, with Pennsylvania courts rejecting his efforts to overturn the verdict.
The latest proceeding involved a petition under Pennsylvania’s Post Conviction Relief Act, or PCRA. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the court had provided Sandusky an opportunity to present evidence supporting his allegations, including the assertion that one victim had recanted.
Sandusky ultimately declined to pursue that claim. The court questioned him Tuesday to confirm that he intended to withdraw it before formally dismissing the PCRA petition, the Attorney General’s Office said.
Prosecutors told the court they were prepared to rebut the recantation allegation with testimony from six witnesses and other evidence.
The Commonwealth also raised concerns about what it described as the defense’s failure to comply with a court order requiring disclosure of documents and materials relevant to proposed defense testimony concerning the alleged recantation.
The order required the defense to provide post-trial interviews, statements or accounts from proposed witnesses that addressed the victim’s abuse allegations, trial testimony or purported recantation, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
Attorney General Dave Sunday characterized the proceeding as another attempt by Sandusky to escape his conviction and said prosecutors had substantial evidence available to challenge the recantation claim.
“We had available voluminous evidence that debunks this highly-suspect claim by defense counsel,” Sunday said.
Senior Deputy Attorneys General Cari Mahler and Jaime Keating represented the Commonwealth in the post-conviction proceedings.
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