Showing posts with label testify. Show all posts
Showing posts with label testify. Show all posts

Tuesday, 6 December 2011

All Eight of Sandusky's Alleged Victims Will Testify

All eight of the boys allegedly sexually abused by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky will testify against him when preliminary hearings in the case begin next week, according to people close to the case.

News that all eight victims will testify against Sandusky is a blow to his defense. Sandusky's lawyer, Joe Amendola, previously told ABC News that at least one of the boys had denied that he was abused.

Sandusky is accused of molesting eight boys over a 15-year period. A key allegation against the 67-year-old former coach was that he was seen raping a boy about the age of 10 in the showers in 2002.

The grand jury report said the identity of the boy, called Victim 2, was not known, but Amendola told ABC News that he believed the defense knew who the boy was and talked to him.

"The kid is ... now grown up, he's in his 20s. He's adamant that nothing sexual occurred," Amendola said last month.

The lawyer said that, at the time of the accusation, Sandusky provided the boys name to Penn State after he was confronted with accusation.

Amendola said he expected others might also come forward in Sandusky's defense.

Sources told ABC News, however, that all eight boys in the grand jury presentment intend to take the stand against Sandusky when the hearing begins Dec. 13. The hearing in Centre County, Pa., is expected to last several days.

The revelation comes after Sandusky discussed the 2002 allegation with the New York Times, saying he never spoke about it to Penn State's head football coach, Joe Paterno. Paterno was fired last month amid the scandal.

He added that he and Paterno never spoke of a 1998 child molestation complaint leveled at Sandusky that was investigated by Penn State police.

"I never talked to him about either one," Sandusky said. "That's all I can say. ... He's the only one who knows whether anybody ever said anything to him."

In the interview, Sandusky vehemently denied the accusations.

"These allegations are false. I didn't do those things," he said.

Sandusky also told The Times he was a surrogate father to the boys he developed relationships with through his Second Mile charity for at-risk youth. He said he was just roughhousing with the kids, and he described a closeness that many find hard to justify or understand.

"The environment was family-like," Sandusky said. "All the times were precious times, they were significant times."

Attorney Michael Boni, who represents the now-teenage boy known as Victim Number 1 -- who was the first to come forward to accuse Sandusky -- said that the times with the former coach were horrifying for the victims of his alleged crimes.

"These were, quote, 'precious' moments for him," Boni said. "In fact, they were the most vile, horrendous, unspeakable moments for his victims."

Dr. Michael Welner, an ABC News consultant and a forensic psychiatrist, said he finds the evidence against Sandusky compelling.

"They had a discussion in this interview about barriers," said Welner. "There are no barriers. Sexual assault is a process; it's the end point of a process of grooming. It didn't just happen, he orchestrated it, and yet to see that interview, you would think that it just happened, and it's up to you as a jury or audience to see whether it's illegal or not."


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Sunday, 29 May 2011

Casey Anthony's mother, ex-boyfriend testify

Casey Anthony sits in court with defense team members Dorothy Clay Sims, right, on the first day of her murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in Orlando, Fla. Casey Anthony sits in court with defense team members Dorothy Clay Sims, right, on the first day of her murder trial at the Orange County Courthouse on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo / Red Huber, Pool)

AP  By KYLE HIGHTOWERORLANDO -- The mother of a Florida woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter gave a tour of the family home, including a playhouse built for the toddler and the above-ground pool the defense team claims the girl drowned in.

Cindy Anthony testified Saturday at her daughter's murder trial that she and Caylee went swimming on June 15, 2008 - the last day she saw her granddaughter. She said she removed a ladder used to help Caylee get into the pool - something she did every time the pool wasn't being used.

Casey Anthony, who is charged with first-degree murder in the toddler's summer 2008 death, wiped away tears with a tissue during her mother's testimony. Prosecutors contend Casey Anthony suffocated the girl with duct tape. If convicted, she could be sentenced to death.

Cindy Anthony was not asked directly Saturday whether she thought the young girl drowned. The trial will resume Tuesday in Orlando.

Through most of her testimony, a photo of young Caylee remained on display on television monitors along the courtroom, where evidence is displayed for the jury, media and spectators. Anthony eventually interrupted her questioning, asking prosecutors to remove the photo.

"I can't look at my granddaughter without getting upset," she said.

Casey Anthony's former boyfriend, Anthony Lazzaro, also testified Saturday about the hours after the Anthonys reported Caylee's disappearance to authorities. He described a text message exchange in which he was trying to get Casey Anthony to reveal where the toddler was.

"If they don't find her guess who gets blamed and spends eternity in jail?" the text message read.

Prosecutors presented their strongest witness Friday after a judge rebuffed their attempts to allow instant messages to be introduced as evidence that they say go toward Anthony's motive.

The manager of a towing yard where the defendant's car was kept for more than two weeks during that summer testified that he smelled an odor coming from her car consistent with decomposing bodies he'd smelled in the past. The defense argued in its opening statement that the smell was actually from a bag of trash Anthony left in her car.

Casey's father, George Anthony, testified for the third time in four days Friday and said his mind was racing when he arrived to pick up the car and observed the smell.

"That particular smell, whenever you smell it, is something you'll never forget," he said. "... I don't know if I said it out loud or whispered, but I said `Please God, don't let this be Casey or Caylee."' The defense has argued that George Anthony found Caylee drowned in the family pool and helped dispose of the body.

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