Former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky is set to return to court next month after one of his accusers agreed to recant testimony given during his 2012 child sexual abuse trial, court records show.
An evidentiary hearing has been scheduled for September 8 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where the state attorney general's office is set to respond to the allegations.
The accuser, identified in court filings as Victim 10, states in a sworn affidavit obtained by ABC News that Sandusky did not abuse him. Victim 10 testified for the prosecution during Sandusky's trial but now alleges that prosecutors influenced his testimony and asked him to revisit and reframe his allegations against the former defensive coordinator.
In the affidavit, Victim 10 described how pretrial interactions affected his statements. "[t]hroughout the pretrial process, I was told - both directly and indirectly - that trauma may have fragmented my memory, and that I could safely affirm details I did not fully recall," he wrote. "I was assured this was common and even expected."
Defense Motion and Legal Response
Sandusky's defense team has cited Victim 10's statement in a motion seeking a new trial for the coach. Defense attorneys also alleged in the motion that Victim 10's estranged wife is willing to testify that she believes he was not abused by Sandusky.
Prosecutors from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office rejected the defense argument regarding the estranged wife. In response to the motion, prosecutors declared that "what she thinks may or may not have really happened to [Victim 10] when he was 10 years old, or any other Sandusky child victim for that matter, is irrelevant and inadmissible."
Sandusky, 82, was found guilty in 2012 of 45 counts of sexual abuse involving ten boys whom he met through his Second Mile youth charity. Prosecutors established at trial that the offenses took place over a 15-year period between 1994 and 2009. Second Mile was a charity Sandusky founded in Pennsylvania to assist at-risk children.
Prison Interview and Denial of Guilt
The former coach has consistently maintained his innocence since his conviction. Speaking from behind bars during a prison phone call with The Daily Mail in 2024, Sandusky expressed disbelief over his conviction.
"I never ever in my life ever thought about molesting anybody," Sandusky said during the interview. "I was accused of heinous crimes, which I've never committed. My wife was my only partner in sex and that was after marriage."
Sandusky added that he was in disbelief over how the accusations emerged and questioned why witnesses changed their accounts. "Why were they [accuser] saying things that were so inconsistent with what they had said before?" he asked. "I believe I was wrongfully convicted by inconsistent, perjured testimony."
Fallout at Penn State
Sandusky served as defensive coordinator for Pennsylvania State University's Nittany Lions football team starting in 1977, becoming a prominent figure in college football. Penn State, located in State College near Bellefonte, is one of the nation's largest public universities with a widely followed athletics program.
His arrest in 2011 sent shockwaves through collegiate athletics and prompted the firing of Hall of Fame head coach Joe Paterno, who had led the Penn State football program for 46 seasons. In the years following the trial, Pennsylvania State University has paid more than $100 million to individuals who reported being abused by Sandusky.
The scheduled evidentiary hearing on September 8 will mark Sandusky's latest legal effort to challenge his 2012 conviction based on the new affidavit from Victim 10.
