Judge Who Set No Bail for Penn State Sex Abuse Suspect Volunteered for Him

Nov. 14 ,2011— -- The judge who let Jerry Sandusky return home without paying any bail and without an ankle monitor after being arrested on 40 counts of child sexual assault charges was a volunteer at Sandusky's charity, The Second Mile.

Sandusky turned himself in to District Judge Leslie Dutchcot's office on Nov. 5, after a 23-page grand jury presentment detailing the allegations against Sandusky was accidentally posted online on Nov. 4, according to the attorney general's office.

Despite prosecutors' request for $500,000 bail and an ankle monitor to be placed on Sandusky, Dutchcot ordered Sandusky freed on $100,000 unsecured bail, only to be paid if Sandusky failed to show up for court.

The Second Mile charity is listed as one of a handful of organizations Dutchcot volunteers for in a biography on her law firm's website.

The Patriot News reported today that Dutchchot only volunteered a few times in 2008 and 2009, after Sandusky had stopped participating in the Second Mile, according to a source.

Dutchcot told ABC News today that she could not comment on any pending case going through the court system.

Christopher Mallios, an attorney with AEquitas, part of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, said that having unsecured bail is extremely unusual for a defendent charged with a high number of serious crimes.

"The fact that it's unsecured at all, we are dealing with pretty serious crimes. If the allegations were just involving one victim, it would be unusual for a defendant to get unsecured bail. But with multiple possible victims and ongoing investigations and out of state investigations, I'm shocked," Mallios said.

Mallios said that in his work in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office there was always concern over whether a defendenant who had a position of authority within the community or financial means would receive preferential treatment.

"You know, we don't have two courthouses, one for the rich and one for the poor, or one for white people and one for black people. This just seems out of proportion for the crimes," he said.

Second Mile, Penn State Execs Out After Sandusky Scandal

Authorities are now investigating how many people had heard that Sandusky had assaulted boys or had behaved inappropriately with them and didn't tell police. The list is getting long, starting with former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, an assistant coach who witnessed an alleged rape, the former president of the university, two top officials now charged with perjury and failure to report sex abuse.

In addition, there were staff on the Penn State police force, the state Department of Public Welfare, the district attorney, and staff The Second Mile, Sandusky's charity for at risk youth.

Today, the executive director of the Second Mile, Jack Raykovitz, resigned from the organization amid a flurry of questions about whether the group ignored sex abuse allegations against Sandusky and allowed him to continue working with and preying on young boys.

According to an earlier statement by Raykovitz, the organization was notified by Penn State officials in 2002 about an incident in which assistant coach Mike McQueary saw Sandusky allegedly raping a boy in the showers on campus. Raykovitz said he was told only that an employee was "uncomfortable" seeing Sandusky in the shower with a boy.

Raykovitz did not notify police, and Sandusky continued to have contact with Second Mile children until 2008, when he notified the board that he was being investigated and stopped working with the organizations.

Raykovitz was also reportedly informed that Sandusky had been banned from a local high school because of inappropriate behavior with children, according to court documents.

Patricia Coble, a now former The Second Mile fundraising volunteer who worked for the organization for the past 10 years, said that when she heard the news of Sandusky's arrest she felt like she was punched in the stomach.

"I do absolutely think that Jerry Sandusky started this foundation with the intent of having children readily available for his needs," Coble said. "To work for a foundation that is nothing but a front for child abuse? No, they should be held accountable."

Besides Raykovitz, a lawyer who worked with the Second Mile and Penn State resigned last week. Many honorary board members, including Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr., have distanced themselves from the organization.

David Woodle, the current vice chairman of the board of directors for Second Mile, will now take over day-to-day operations, according to a statement released today.

At Penn State, the university president, two top officials, head coach Joe Paterno, and McQueary have all been fired or placed on leave for their roles in the scandal.

Law enforcement sources told ABC News the Sandusky case "has generated a strong public response," while sources have said the case "has generated multiple leads" and "information from the public" that has required state police to commit additional investigative resources.

As the investigation of sexual assault charges widens, at least one alleged victim has now hired an attorney to explore a civil lawsuit.

Pennsylvania attorney Ben Andreozzi told ABC News he has been retained by one of Sandusky's alleged victims to explore a civil lawsuit against not only against the former coach, but anyone who may have not reported the alleged attacks against his client. That could include a number of officials and staff at Penn State University and the Second Mile.

As the investigation unfolds into the charges that Sandusky assaulted eight boys over 15 years, it is still unclear how many victims will come forward. While he criticized police, school officials and even the whistleblower that witnessed one of Sandusky's alleged assaults, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said that he thinks that more victims will come forward.

"When the word gets out, when people understand that authorities are actually doing something about this, that they may be believed, then more people come forward," Corbett said on "Fox News Sunday." "If I had to speculate I wouldn't be surprised if we had more victims come forward."

"We would have expected law enforcement to be involved much sooner," he added. Mike McQueary, the coaching assistant who testified that he saw Sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in a campus shower almost a decade ago, "did not in my opinion meet a moral obligation" in reporting the abuse, the governor added.

McQueary, who the university has put on leave, met the legal "minimum obligation" after he reported the incident to his superiors. For many, this represents part of the problem -- that state law doesn't require all people to report child abuse to police.

"Pennsylvania's law is in need of repair," Wes Oliver, associate professor at Widener University School of Law, told ABC News. "Pennsylvania's law requires someone who learns through the course of his or her employer that a child is being abused that person go to their supervisor -- all the way up to the head of the organization."

Speaking on "Good Morning America" Monday, newly appointed Penn State University President Rodney Erickson said that the university is committed to the victims of the crime and raising awareness of child sexual abuse.