The judge in the Jerry Sandusky child molestation trial called an early recess Monday for the day, citing "technical difficulties" with the defense's witnesses.
The lunchtime recess went about 25 minutes long. and after attorneys appeared again in the courtroom, Senior Judge John Cleland made a cryptic announcement to the jury: that though his meeting with the lawyers had delayed things for the moment, it would "materially" speed things along.
Then, after hearing from three witnesses for the defense, two of
whom talked about Sandusky's strong character, the judge paused, open-mouthed for a moment, before speaking.
"Let me tell you where we are," he told the jury.
He says he expects tomorrow and Wednesday to be "full days" for the
defense's case, with closing arguments anticipated Thursday morning. He also told the jury they'll be sequestered during their deliberations. A civil attorney for one of the alleged victims in the case says that timetable indicates it's unlikely Sandusky will take the stand.
Prior to the early recess, the defense began its case. Witnesses included a man who met Sandusky as a child through The Second Mile charity, a former fundraising consultant for the charity, and two ex-coaches at Penn State, all of whom said they still think highly of Sandusky.
Before lunch, one of the defense's witnesses was prevented from testifying at all due to an objection from the prosecution.
Earlier in the day, the prosecution rested its case after hearing from the mother of one of the alleged victims, as the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse trial entered its second week. The mother of the boy called Victim Nine, who last week told jurors that he was abused during sleepovers at Sandusky's home, testified this morning.
She says around the time her son was spending time with the former Penn State defensive coordinator, he began to experience stomach problems, nervousness, and indifference toward school.
Another potential witness is Sandusky’s wife Dottie, who’s been sequestered since the trial began a week ago.
The 68-year-old defendant is charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse of 10 boys over 15 years, which he denies.
We have a summary of the first week of testimony.
