Jerry Sandusky is seeking a new appeal of his child sex abuse conviction, and a judge on Thursday granted him a May 20 hearing on the matter.
The former Penn State assistant football coach is serving 30 to 60 years in prison after being convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of child sexual abuse. The evidentiary hearing, granted by Judge John Cleland, will test claims that prosecutors deceived jurors, withheld evidence, or leaked secret information,
Penn Live reported.
"I could write a book about what has happened. Unmask accusers. Demonstrate improprieties. Present illegalities. Show unfairness. Reveal deception, dishonesty and corruption. … I am an innocent man serving what amounts to a life sentence," Sandusky, 72, wrote in a statement read by his attorney Monday,
according to an additional report by Penn Live.
Sandusky is appealing under the Post-Conviction Relief Act, which aims to address newly found evidence, constitutional violations, or ineffective lawyering,
CBS reported. He previously lost direct appeals to the Pennsylvania Supreme and Superior Courts.
Sandusky’s lawyers will now be allowed to make a written filing about whether the grand jury in the case lacked jurisdiction,
according to The Guardian.
A key claim to be explored relates to closing arguments by prosecutor Joe McGettigan, who referred to “others unknown to us, to others presently known to God but not to us.” Sandusky's lawyers may try to prove that this comment was a lie, and referred to Victim 2, whom former Penn State assistant Mike McQueary said he saw being attacked by Sandusky in a team shower.
The appeal also will examine whether Judge Barry Feudale and prosecutors improperly withheld evidence during the investigation that could have helped the defense and whether anyone in the Attorney General's office leaked information to try find other victims.
Related to the case,
Penn Live reported Thursday that one of Penn State's insurers has claimed that a child allegedly reported Sandusky's sexual abuse to head coach Joseph Paterno in 1976.
In a tweet, Paterno's son,
Scott, said that claim is untrue.
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