All Eight of Jerry Sandusky's Alleged Victims Will Testify Against Him
Attorney for Sandusky had predicted at least one victim would recant testimony.
Dec. 5, 2011— -- 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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