Jerry Sandusky appears remotely in court as lawyers prepare a federal
court bid to seek a new trial
[September 09, 2026]
By MARC LEVY
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry
Sandusky appeared in court remotely Tuesday where he said he agreed with
his lawyers not to go forward with testimony from an accuser who wants
to recant allegations that Sandusky sexually abused him years ago.
The hearing was part of the latest bid by Sandusky’s lawyers to secure a
new trial for him as his lawyers prepare to go to federal court to seek
a new trial after failing repeatedly in state courts.
In court, Sandusky, 82, appeared on a video screen in a spare room in
Laurel Highlands state prison, seated at a small table in a
maroon-colored shirt looking up at the camera through glasses.
Under questioning, he told Centre County Judge Maureen Skerda he had
consulted with his lawyers about the decision not to present the
accuser's testimony recanting the allegations from Sandusky's 2012
trial.
“I'm making this decision on advice of counsel,” Sandusky said, his arms
on the table in front of him, a notepad between them. “Is there anything
wrong with that?”
Sandusky, 82, has been serving a decades-long prison sentence since he
was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse in 2012, after eight young
men testified about what happened to them as boys.
Sandusky's lawyer, Jerry Russo, told reporters later that state courts
frown on granting new trials based on a witness recantation, seeing it
as “inherently unreliable.”
Instead, Russo said, he plans to take Sandusky's broader claims for a
new trial to federal court — Sandusky's made at least three attempts in
state courts — after one more procedural appeal in state court.
Last year, Sandusky's lawyers had asked for a new trial, claiming there
were inconsistencies in the accusers' testimony and that their testimony
was driven by the possibility of financial gain, coaching by prosecutors
and “therapy intended to (help) them reconstruct memories of alleged
abuse.”
Skerda months ago had refused to hear the claims, except for the
recantation of the victim identified in court documents as R.R.
On Tuesday, Russo suggested that it wasn't worth taking the time for the
judge to hear and consider the recantation testimony if it has no chance
to win a new trial in a state court.
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Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky
arrives at the Centre County Courthouse, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019, in
Bellefonte, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
“If that’s the only issue that remains for us to litigate, there’s
no purpose being served litigating it here in state court,” Russo
said.
Skerda told Russo and Sandusky that withdrawing the request to
present the recantation from the accuser, identified in court
documents as R.R., meant that it could not be litigated again in
state or federal court.
Russo agreed with that assessment, saying “technically” it is true,
but also suggested that the recantation could find its way into
federal court, saying that “there are other witnesses that can
testify” about R.R.'s recantation.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General had said the supposed
recantation was “highly suspect” and said it had prepared to rebut
the recantation claim with testimony from six witnesses and other
evidence.
In a statement, Attorney General David Sunday called Sandusky a
“convicted child predator” and said he is making another attempt to
“avoid accountability and escape punishment for years of abuse he
perpetrated.”
Sandusky was the defensive coordinator at one of the country’s top
football programs under Hall of Fame head coach Joe Paterno. The
scandal led to Paterno’s firing, and the university paid more than
$100 million to people who said they were abused by Sandusky.
Authorities said he found and groomed boys at The Second Mile, a
charity he founded for at-risk youth. Sandusky has repeatedly
declared his innocence.
R.R., who was 25 years old at trial, testified that when he was 11,
Sandusky sexually abused him in the coach’s basement in 1998, a
transcript shows.
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