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Judge to say Wednesday if Sandusky gets new sex abuse trial

BELLEFONTE, Pa. — BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania judge said Monday he will announce later this week whether to grant former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky a new trial or throw out child sexual abuse convictions against him.

Judge John Foradora posted an announcement online Monday that said he will issue an order and an opinion on Sandusky's Post Conviction Relief Act appeal at noon Wednesday.

Sandusky is arguing he did not receive adequate representation by his lawyers during the trial and that prosecutors failed to turn over information about victims' changing stories.

Sandusky's lawyer, Al Lindsay, declined to comment. A spokesman for the attorney general's office said prosecutors will respond after the judge issues his decision.

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The 73-year-old Sandusky is serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence after being convicted in 2012 of 45 counts of abuse involving 10 boys, including attacks that occurred on campus property.

Foradora, a common pleas court judge in Jefferson County, was brought in by the state Supreme Court to handle the appeal in February.

That was four months after the trial judge, John Cleland, stepped aside from the case because Sandusky's lawyers had criticized a meeting between lawyers, Cleland and a district judge in the case before Sandusky waived a preliminary hearing.

In an order removing himself, Cleland said his integrity had been impugned.

Cleland also said, in a footnote in the November order, that he had reviewed the 34 issues Sandusky raised and concluded "no grounds raised in the petition merit relief."

Sandusky previously lost a round of appeals to the state Superior and Supreme courts.

Pennsylvania's Post-Conviction Relief Act is limited to claims of constitutional violations, newly discovered evidence or ineffective counsel.

 

Associated Press

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