Former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky exits the courthouse after the defense rested it’s case at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa., Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Sandusky is charged with 51 counts of child sexual abuse involving 10 boys over a period of 15 years. (AP Photo/Centre Daily Times, Nabil K. Mark)GENARO C. ARMAS and MARK SCOLFORO
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) – Seven women and five men poised to hear closing arguments in Jerry Sandusky’s child sexual abuse trial would begin jury deliberations without the benefit of having the former Penn State assistant football coach take the witness stand in his own defense.
More than a week of often-explicit testimony wrapped up Wednesday after Sandusky’s defense team rested without calling their client. That set up closing arguments for Thursday morning, and jurors could start meeting behind closed doors that afternoon to start weighing Sandusky’s fate.
Once famed for his coaching acumen, Sandusky is charged with 51 criminal counts for the alleged abuse of 10 boys over 15 years in hotels, at his home and in the football team’s showers. Sandusky has maintained his innocence, and his attorneys have tried to weaken the prosecution’s case by discrediting police investigators and suggesting that accusers are hoping to cash in on potential civil lawsuits.
Sandusky’s arrest in November sparked an explosive scandal that led to the ousters of Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno and the university president, and cast a critical eye on the role of college administrators in reporting abuse allegations. The sweeping case also led to renewed focus on child abuse issues.