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The Sports Network
Bellefonte, PA (Sports Network) - Citing pervasive publicity and the unique
nature of Penn State's relationship to the community, prosecutors on Tuesday
asked for an out-of-county jury for the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse trial.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Joseph McGettigan laid out the prosecution's
request, noting that the Centre County community has been saturated by the
coverage of Sandusky's case and writing that there "can be absolutely no doubt
that the media coverage of this matter has been spectacular in its breadth and
intensity."
"The nature of the crimes committed, and the location and circumstances of
their commission, have catapulted this case into the national conversation,"
he wrote in the motion to Judge John M. Cleland.
McGettigan called the publicity Sandusky's case has received "the very
definition of extensive, sustained, and pervasive" and argued that it is
without peer in the history of Pennsylvania.
Sandusky, the former longtime Penn State defensive coordinator, has denied
dozens of charges that he systematically abused children, using his Second
Mile charity to groom potential victims.
McGettigan noted that publicity alone doesn't necessitate jurors being pooled
from another county, but said the combination of "pervasive publicity" and the
"unique nature" of the Penn State community requires a change.
"The relationship of Penn State University to the community which surrounds
and supports it is special. The life of the university and Centre County are
inextricably intertwined; both philosophically and economically," he wrote.
"The citizens of Centre County feel a laudable and proper sense of ownership
of, and participation in, the fortunes of Penn State. To ask members of that
community to breakdown that alloy and insulate themselves from the institution
which informs so many aspects of their lives is asking too much. It is unfair
and impracticable."
McGettigan argued that not enough time has passed to dissipate the effect
Sandusky's alleged crimes have had on the community and wrote: "Indeed, that
cloud seems only to lower further."
Sandusky attorney Joe Amendola does not want an out-of-county jury for his
client and was "disappointed" with the prosecution's request, according to
reports.
The Sports Network